If Not Today
by freshgeneration
Summary: A story that begins with Katie Gardner getting hit with a basketball by her crazy neighbor. She hates him and would never associate herself with him, but she winds up getting sucked in to his charm. Follow Katie as she gets thrown into Travis Stoll and his crazy adventures. There might be something more to him than Katie once thought, and she has a concussion to thank for it.
1. A ball, neighbors, and concussions

I had known the Stoll brothers ever since I could remember. We spent most of our childhood together, but it was one of those forced friendships when your moms hang out and put you in the bath together.

The only thing I remember about our so called friendship was that it didn't last long. It seemed that they were out to get me. I was constantly the victim of their vicious and cruel pranks. On my first day of kindergarten Travis and Connor, the Stolls, poured glue all over my pigtails then pushed me in a mud puddle, ruining my brand new dress. I cried like a baby that day. Not much has changed since then. They still pulled stupid pranks on me. The only thing that had changed since that day was that I didn't cry when pranked on, I got angry.

I learned that having quick wit and a sharp tongue was the only way to beat those cheeky bastards. My comebacks improved over the years, and the boys that used to leave me red in the face would have their ears turn scarlet at my snarky comments.

Now I'm getting off topic. I've never believed in fate, but after what happened on that hot summer's day changed my relationship with the Stolls forever, and I seemed to believe in it then. If you told me that getting whacked in the face with a basketball would make me see Travis in the like-like way I would told you that you should check into an asylum. But now things have changed. I'm not sure if it's a good thing or not, and I'm still trying to figure that part out.

"Gardner watch out!"

"What the fu—." I was cut short of that sentence by a round object hurdling towards me. it was getting closer and closer until I finally realized that I should probably move out of the way, but it was to late. I got hit square in the nose and slammed on the ground.

While unconscious, I started thinking about flowers. Daisies to be exact. The flower was blowing the breeze. After studying its white pedals for quite a while, a giant foot came and squished me flower. MY FLOWER. The nerve of some people. I had half a mind to punch whoever killed me precious little flower.

"Hey listen here buddy." I started accusing the suspect.

"Gardner! Wake up! Jesus fuck wake up before I throw this bucket of water on you." Travis. Of course. Only he would stomp on my daisy. That jerk.

"I'mupI'mupI'mup. Jeez. Did anyone ever teach you how to politely wake someone up." I felt a sharp pain in my head, and rested my hand on my temple. "Ow. What the heck happened to me?"I asked him without opening me eyes.

"Hey Connor, never mind about that bucket of ice water! She's fine!" Travis directed to his younger brother. "Gardner you are one heavy sleeper," he continued after a pause, " I didn't now how else to wake you up. And I wasn't even going to try kissing you. It would probably be like kissing a dog." I looked up at that comment.

Once my eyelids were lifted i immediately saw two bright blue eyes looking at me. the usual smirk on his face. I hated that smirk. His idiotic, overgrown curly brown hair was covering his upturned eyebrows. His nose was slightly crooked from when he got in a fight with Lee Fletcher sophomore year. I was never told why they fought. The two seemed to have gotten along, I guess I was wrong. Travis was never one to get into fights for no apparent reason, even he's not that big of an idiot. "Who said anything about kissing you. You probably have herpes, and I'd rather not catch any sexual diseases today."

"Please, we all know under that shell that you have the hots for me. I don't blame you, I mean look at me. I'm like practically a Greek god." I snorted, very ladylike Katie.

"Yeah and I'm secretly Aphrodite. Stoll, can you quit messing around and tell me what happened."

"Oh, right. So Connor and I were playing basketball at the park, I was winning by the way, and when I went to take a buzzer shot, I noticed an orphan all alone. I felt bad, and since being the generous and giving person I am, I wanted to help him. My attention wasn't on my shooting, so It missed and ended up hitting you in the face." I was about to tell him that that was bullshit when a voice beat me to it.

"Shut up, Travis, there was no orphan at the park. You just missed the easy shot because you suck donkey balls at basketball." I was surprised to hear this from Connor. His brother and right-hand man. They hardly ever argued, even in the slightest.

"Oh brother-dearest, I think your forgetting one simple fact. I was winning," Travis shot right back.

"Whatever," Connor mumbled in defeat.

"Ahem. As much as I love hearing about this story, my head is throbbing uncontrollably, and I need an ice pack. So, if you would just excuse me, I am going to go to the safety of my house." I started to get up when I got dizzy. I reached out to regain balance when both boys sat me back down.

"Woah, woah, woah. Hold your horses." They creepily said in unison.

Travis continued, " Gardner you can't even stand up. Just stay here at our place." Wait. Their place? I thought I got knocked out at the park.

"Wait. We aren't at the park?" I inquired.

"Nice observation. Katherine Obvious, " Travis snarkily said.

"It's Captain Obvious, bimbo," I really didn't have time for this.

He seemed taken aback for a second. Realization hitting him after who knows many years of saying the wrong thing. But he regained what little composure he lost and said, "Well, I just said that because that's your name." Wow. how much more desperate could you be.

"Stoll, we've known each other for nine years and yet you still don't know my name. It's Kaityln not Katherine." I should have lowered my expectations of what a stupid like Travis could remember. There's only so much room in that tiny brain of his.

"Whatever, Kather, but no we aren't at the park anymore. We took you to our house." I ignored his new name for me thinking of the two Stolls being with me while I was unconscious. Who knows what they could have done.

"How did we get here?"

"Oh we threw you the backseat of the pick-up. It was a big hassle you know. You weigh a ton. Even these big guns needed backup." He finished while flexing his biceps. Oh god those idiots. They were probably taking their sweet time while I rolled around in the back of that death machine. Travis drives like a maniac. He must have noticed my expression because he quickly added, "Oh don't worry, Gardner, we stopped at Taco Bell on the way here and bought you something."

"Well in that case, thanks Stolls, for putting myself before your needs. You know it's not like, I was unconscious or anything. I could have gone into a comma. I probably have a concussion right now too. All thanks to your basketball skills." Connor laughed at that. If I had to choose between the two on who would torture me for the rest of my life I would definitely pick Connor. He was less insufferable.

"That's a myth," Travis said. He then not-so-quitely-whispered to Connor, " And she says I'm the stupid one." I rolled my eyes as they snickered.

"Whatever. Hand me my Taco Bell, you insufferable baboons, and I will be on my way." I then added with a thicker accent, "It was real nice of ya'll to take care of a little damsel in distress like me, but I've got to get back to plowing the fields. Bye bye now."

"Hey we are not baboons. I will have you know that my ass is not blue and looks rather nice ,thank you very much," Connor said while sticking his butt out and trying what I think was a twerk. I couldn't help but laugh at how stupid he looked, not that he didn't always look stupid.

"Okay, Connie,— I—I think I have seen enough of your club moves, and I am sad to say that I am scarred for life." I finished off while clutching my stomach through fits of laughter.

"Come on, Katie, you and I both know that I'ma dirty, little dancer and my hips don't lie." Now he stated shaking his hips back and forth better than Shakira herself.

"Connor, bro, I think you are scaring her." Travis had been very quite despite his echoing laughter throughout the whole thing.

"Okay, Okay. I really should go now. I need to start cooking dinner before my dad gets home. my head is fine now. Really guys I'm fine," I reassured them.

"If you say so Katie Baby." I don't think Travis has ever not called me with some stupid nickname.

"Later Stolls. Oh! and don't you even think about pranking me on Monday."

"Why not?" Theres that stupid smirk of his. I want to slap it off his face.

"She has a date that day." Connor butted in before i could tell him to mind his own beeswax.

Wait.

"Wait. How did you know that?" I was truly surprised that he knew this. I thought that i kept the secret pretty well. You know keep it on the hush-hush.

"I know everything about everyone at the school. Duh, Katie."

"School hasn't even started yet."

"I have my ways."

I wouldn't doubt that.

"Well, anyways, just don't prank me. I'd rather not go on my date with goo in my hair and stains on my clothes." With that said I walked out of the house, across their yard, and into the safety of my own home.

After getting the ingredients together for dinner I went in my room to wait for the soup to be done. I went into the bathroom and screamed when I saw what was looking back at me. I should have known. I walked towards my window and glared at the two boys casually sitting on the window sill. Trying and failing to look innocent.

"STOLLS!"

"Sorry, babe, can't help it. Once a prankster always a prankster." Travis winked at me, slammed the window down, and drew the curtains.

That dickhead basically shut the window on my face since our houses weren't even five feet apart from each other.


	2. Dinner, hospitals, and an agreement

My head was pounding when my dad came home.

"Hey, Katie, what's for dinner? Smells great," he said with a smile on his face as he undid his tie. He came and gave me a hug, giving a light peck to my temple, like he did every night.

I smiled and said, "The usual. Gourmet soup."

"Ah. Nothing but the best for us," he replied while pouring some into a bowl for the two of us. He placed my bowl onto my placemat and sat down across from me on our round table. It was meant for three. The chair to his left always remained empty, but we always set the third spot.

My dad sighed before he asked me, "So, how was your day honey?" He blew on the spoon before taking a slurp.

"Not too bad. I got hit in the head with a basketball," I said cheerfully. When I went to take a sip, I missed my mouth and spilled some soup on my face.

That seemed to take my dad out of his somber state. He looked up at me and said, "Honey, are you alright? Do you have a concussion? Is there a bruise?" Normally I would shrug off his overprotective behavior, but I thought that this time was more serious.

"I can't tell if there is a bruise because I hit the back of my head, but my head won't stop throbbing."

"Do you feel nauseous?"

"A little bit, but I took some Advil earlier so the headache should go away at any moment."

"No, honey. You look horrible."

"Gee, thanks, dad."

"This is not a time of sarcasm young lady," he sad with a stern look. We both started cracking up. My dad was never the type to scold me, but he never really had the need to. Not to brag or anything. "But seriously, I think we should take you to the hospital just in case."

"No, dad, let's just wait it out." I didn't want him to have to drive me out to the hospital. He was tired enough from work, worrying about me having a concussion should not be a priority for him.

"No, Katie, I'm your father and I think that it is better to be safe than sorry."

"Okay, you win, but let's finish dinner first." That ended the discussion and started a very long silence consisting of slurps and the clinks of spoons hitting against the bowl.

…

I've always hated hospitals. The walls are always a dull green color, and the floors always have white tile. Being at hospitals during the night is the worst, not all of the lights are on, and some flicker on and off. My dad and I sat in the ER for a while while we waited for us to be called. We waited. And waited. And Waited.

Finally an hour and a half later the nurse called out for a Mr. Gardner. We got up and were sent not too far from the waiting room. The room was small, and filled with posters about specific procedures, and achieving your dreams. The nurse asked me what happened, and checked my eyes. She asked what my pain was on a scale of ten. She asked questions like where I lived, what my name was, and what my dad's name was. She prescribed me some pain killers and told me to take it easy for a while. The nurse transferred me over to a doctor who tested my reflexes and told me that I would be having an MRI just to rule out if there is any internal bleeding or other serious injuries.

When the X-rays came back, the doctor stated that there was no internal bleeding or anything serious. He told me to keep away from getting any repeat concessions. What is that supposed to mean? Wear a helmet twenty-four-seven to block any shots from my crazy neighbor? It's not like this happened on purpose. I may not be a doctor, but I don't think you can prevent a concussion from happening.

The doctor also told me to refrain from any normal activities including reading, unless it was very large print. He told me I couldn't drive until I got all of my motor skills back, but that would only affect me if I actually had my license. I always passed the paper exam, but failed the drivers test three times. I got really sweaty and nervous. Plus, the guy filling in my exam was constantly yelling at me.

When we got home my dad told me to get some rest and I gladly accepted. My body was practically screaming at me to get some shut eye. I barely mad it to my bed before I passed out.

…

I woke up to the sunlight streaming through my window. I got up drowsily and noticed some drool on my pillow. Lovely.

My headache wasn't as bad today, but it was still present. I made my way downstairs to find my dad had already put out breakfast for me. Cereal. my favorite. I could eat cereal any time of the day. I once told my dad that I was going to start a petition to make cereal available for all three meals at restaurants. There is nothing worse than going out to eat, and them telling you that you are twenty minutes late of being able to order breakfast, and if I would like to see the lunch menu. I mean it's not like I have any option left except leaving the restaurant.

I noticed a sticky note was left next to the box of Cheerios, filled with his scrawled writing. It read that he would be back late tonight because he didn't finish any of his take home work yesterday. I knew that was my fault. We were in the hospital till around one in the morning.

My day went by very slowly. I kept glancing at the clock, but even though it felt like eight'o'clock it was only midday. I groaned, and stuffed my face into the couch pillow.

I started picking at my nails to kill time. They were blue with white flowers in the center. I sighed for probably the billionth time that day when someone knocked on the door. Two hard knocks with repeats of the door bell. Man this person has zero patience, and the noise was only making my headache worse. I got up and made my way to the door.

"I'm coming! I'm coming! Gosh, don't get your panties in a twist," I whispered at the end.

"Hello," I said as I opened my door.

"Hey, Gardner, I heard you got a concussion," Travis said while casually leaning against the railing on my porch. I inwardly groaned.

"Now, now. Is that any way to treat your favorite person?" he asked knowingly.

"What do you want, Stoll?"

"I heard about what happened, and I felt bad, so I am treating you to ice cream," he said.

I looked behind him. "Where's your idiot brother?"

"Who? Oh, you mean the less handsome version of me? He's on a date," He finished with an eye roll.

"You mean your brother's not around, and you have nothing better to do so you decided to come and bug me?"

"Precisely."

I huffed out and rolled my eyes, "Stoll, I don't want to go anywhere with you."

"Oh, come on! I'll pay, and be on my best behavior." I raised my eyebrow at him. "I'll also not prank you for a week," He said pronouncing the word week like it had two syllables.

"A month."

"Three weeks."

"Deal," I said. "Hold on one second," with that I slammed the door and went to grab my lavender hoodie. I went back outside and locked the door.

"Let's go Stoll we haven't got all day." He stood there in shock as I passed him going down the steps and making my way to his pick-up. That seemed to wake him up. He walked down my porch steps with a swing in his step and fast walked up to the car. Just as I was about to open the door he beat me to it.

"Your chariot awaits, My Lady," He finished with a dramatic bow. I rolled my eyes but got in. He ran around to the other side of the car and put the key in the ignition. He turned to key and the truck gave a few pathetic coughs.

"Usually, Penny isn't this fussy," he said trying to reassure me.

He tried again as the car wheezed. One more time and the car jerked to life. Before I could rethink what I just agreed to, we were off.


	3. Car Rides, Cut Scenes, and Goodbyes

**Disclaimer: (because I forgot twice already) ** **I am not Rick. Okay? Okay. I also don't own TFIOS in any way. **

"So.." I dragged out. I was looking anywhere but him. Noticed that there was a lot of discarded trash on the ground and small tears on the leather seats. They were comfy all the same.

"So… What?" he chuckled.

"So, You named your pickup Penny?" I asked with a raised brow.

"Yeah. She's brown and shiny like a penny," he added on, "Well, she was shiny at one time anyway." I laughed and he grinned. Leave it to Travis to name his old, beat up car.

"How long have you had this beauty?" I asked with mock enthusiasm.

"I got her last year. I've been working on her for a while now," he replied. "But, I know you don't give a rat's ass about my car."

"That is true."

"What do you like? I mean what are your hobbies besides stalking me, and being president of my fan club?" he asked with a sly smile.

"HA! Good one, Stoll," I finished with my signature eye roll.

"No. I'm serious what do you enjoy doing on your free time?" I wasn't sure if I wanted to tell him. I mean he is my least favorite person after all.

"Well… I like—OH MY GOD!" I got interrupted by Travis driving like a maniac. He took a sharp turn to the right without hitting the brakes. I got shoved into Travis

because of the momentum. Once the car went back on all four tires I said, "Travis! You are a horrible driver!"

"You're one to talk, Kather, I don't see you driving."

"Shut up." His loud laughter sounded out for a longer time than necessary.

"Okay. Hardy Har Har. Very Funny. Will you please stop now?"

"Okay [laugh], I'm done now [laugh], I swear [laugh]," he somehow finished, "But, please, enlighten me on your hobbies."

"Oh, um… I like to read and garden..?"

"Gardner, you said that like you weren't sure."

"No, I am sure that those are my hobbies."

"Positive?"

"Positive."

"Okay then."

"Okay then."

"Maybe okay then will be our always," he said looking over at me, the usual smirk on his face.

"Wow, Travis. Way to ruin the moment with your cheesiness."

"Hey, what can I say? I'm a romantic kind of guy, and don't you judge me. You know that chicks dig that movie."

"Book."

"What?"

"Book. _The Fault in Our Stars_ was a book before it became a movie, and as a fan I can say that anyone who loved the book did not like the movie as it was utterly horrible, and cut one of my favorite parts out of screen time."

"Oh really now? And what was this great part that wasn't even great enough to make the horrible movie?"

"The part where Hazel is playing _Counter Insurgence 2_ with Isaac and he tells the voice command to hump the moist cave wall."

Travis bursted out laughing and replied, "Your right, Gardner, that is a great scene. I can't believe they would deprive fans of one of the greatest lines of all time."

"I know!" Now we were both laughing and smiling like idiots. I sighed as I caught my breath. I furrowed my brows together, thinking, and said, "You know, I think this is the only time we have ever had a conversation without wanting to rip each others' throats out."

"I—I think your right, Gardner. It's nice huh?"

"Yeah," I said without thinking. I cringed and looked over to Travis looking back at me with a smirk on his face.

"Huh. Who would've known. Gardner likes spending time with Travis Stoll?"

I dragged out a long sigh and replied, "I guess your not so bad when you aren't trying to make my life a living hell."

"And your not half bad when you aren't trying to kill me or prevent me from having kids," he said as he opened up the door and got out.

"Wait. Where are you going?"

"Kather, I know I'm fun to look at, but you couldn't have possibly forgotten why we were even in the car together." There's that cocky bastard that I know and hate. He seemed to be waiting for my reply as I just stared blankly back at him. "Ice-cream. Does that ring any bells?"

Oh yeah. I blushed as I got out of the pickup. I hugged my hoodie closer to my body because the Autumn winds were already starting to pick up. He looked at me and smiled.

"You know you're pretty cute when you blush."

I just stared up at him in shock. Travis Stoll just called me cute. Did I hear him right? The thought made me blush even harder.

"I mean," he coughed, "You're not my type but still cute in a way," he saved himself.

I just rolled my eyes to end the topic as he opened the door to the ice-cream parlor for me. He breathed out a sigh. Of relief in my opinion.

"So, Gardner, are you a cone or cup type of gal?"

"Cone, definitely cone," I answered without having to think twice.

"Good."

…

We enjoyed our soft serves with out one awkward silence. Travis was good at keeping up the conversation. He looked me in the eyes when I talked. Surprisingly, he was a great listener, only butting in his opinion at the right times. It was nice to rant to someone other than my dad. I didn't have many girl friends. Mainly because we didn't share enough similarities. He was telling me a story about how his brother and him had pranked the school's principal last year by filling up his office with a punch of balloons filled with pink paint when my phone went off. They filled up a tuba with some paint later in the day, that when the big rally was going on one kid blew the paint right onto the principle's face. I remembered that day. I had felt bad for the kid, because Principal Brown blamed the office prank on him. It was fun to hear how Travis and Connor planned and acted out their pranks. It was refreshing to be on the other side of the prank, even if it was just a story.

It was my dad.

_Hey, Honey? where r u?_

_ I'm fine dad. Just went out to get some ice-cream with Travis._

_ R u Okay? You do realize u said u were going 2 go out with Travis Stoll. _

_ I know it sounds crazy, but I'm fine. I'll be home soon! _

_ OK. luv u! _

I cringed at my dad using slang term and trying to be 'hip.'

"That was my dad. Just wondering where I've been for the past… six hours."

"Really? It couldn't have been that long." I looked outside for a rough answer, thinking that my phone was broken. The sky was dark and shops' neon signs were on.

"I guess we have been here that long."

"Huh. I guess time flies when you're having fun," he said while getting up. I guess I was having fun with Travis. Man I thought I would never say that sentence, even if the world depended on it.

"Come on, Gardner, we should head back." I nodded and followed him back to the pickup. He opened up the door for me again, and whistled as he went over to the driver's side. He turned the key into the ignition and the car gave out spurs and coughs. He tried three more times, even telling me to pray the third time, before the car finally spurted to life.

…

The car ride back was silent. Only filled with the radio playing song after song. Travis tapped his fingers along the window to the beat of the music. I hummed along sometimes. It seemed like forever when we got back to our houses. He pulled into his driveway, and took the key out of the ignition. We sat in silence for a while.

He sighed then finally said, "Believe it or not, but I had a good time today. You aren't that much of a stick in the mud as I once thought."

"That's me, Katie Gardner, a go with the flow type of girl," I said with a small smile. "Alright, well I better go now, who knows how long my dad has been home with out me. He could have tried cooking something for all we know. And you know what happened last time he was even near the stove."

"Yeah," he replied quietly. We sat in silence again. This time it was a comfortable one. I guess we were both lost in our thoughts of how we went hours together without arguing even once.

The moment was ruined when a voice called out, "HEY YOU LOVE BIRDS! QUIT KISSING AND GET INSIDE ALREADY!"

"JUST A SEC!" Travis yelled back. "That would be Connor," He said.

I nodded and said, "Yeah. Well I better get going."

"Yeah. You do that," he said back.

"Well… bye. Thanks for today, Travis, I needed it."

"You're welcome," he softly said. We were both standing on thin ice. We'd never been in this type of situation together before, and one wrong move and it would end quicker than it started. I smiled one last time to him and got out of the car. When I got inside my house, I locked the door and leaned against it with a sigh.

"Miss Gardner! It is quite too late for you to be out and about."

I opened up my eyes and jolted upright. Dear Lord, I've never gone out without telling my dad about it. He was pretty lenient when it came to rules, but not telling him where I was was definitely on the top of the things to never do list. I could only imagine what kind of trouble I was in.

** So, Here's Chapter Three... I just wanted to say thank you to every review, fav, and follow. It really means a lot to me. Especially since this is my first story on here. Please excuse any past grammar mistakes. (I even cringe at them) I haven't written anything since my essay about a book a read for English at the beginning of the school year! Please tell me your thoughts on the characters, and what you think needs to be improved upon. Thank you again!**


	4. Denial, Bloody Noses, and Broken Engines

**Disclaimer: I don't own PJO. **

The lights flickered on and I could see my dad sitting on the couch with his arms and legs crossed. An impassive look on his face. He made a tsk tsk sound.

"Katie, Katie, Katie. When will you ever learn?" he asked.

"What, Dad? Learn what?" I was beginning to sweat. I had no idea how my dad would react to this.

"Katie, believe it or not but I was once your age and I know that smile you're trying to hide all too well."

'What are you talking about?"

"I'm talking about how my daughter went out with a boy, without telling me might I add, and she had a great time with said boy. And it just so happens that this said boy is the Travis Stoll that my daughter used to come home crying about." Oh, no. This is not how I imagined this conversation to turn at all.

"But it wasn't even like that!" I whisper-yelled.

"No buts, admit it. You went out with Travis and you had fun. Come on I see that face."

"Dad, no. Stop. I am not talking about this with you."

"Aha! So you admit that it was a date, and that you had a great time!"

"It was't a date. And would you keep your voice down, he lives right next door you know."

"Denial," he whispered as I walked up the stairs. What he said got me thinking, though. Did going out for ice-cream with Travis qualify as a date? Would that mean that I was cheating on my boyfriend? I fell onto my bed with a thoughtful sigh. "Maybe things would be different now," I thought. I didn't know if they would change for the better or for the worse.

But, man, was I about to find out. Sooner than I had hoped.

…

Monday came along quickly. Too quickly. I spent the last two days of summer break bored out of my mind, sleeping and taking pain killers for my headaches. They weren't as strong, but still there, reminding me that I still had a concussion. It was safe to say that I was not excited for school. When my alarm went off playing "The Best Day of my Life," I slammed my fist on it to get it to shut up. I always thought it was best to set your alarm to an annoying and repetitive song, so you have motivation to get up in the morning.

"It is definitely NOT the best day of my life," I muttered into my pillow. I rolled out of bed and groaned when I hit the floor. I started thinking about how I was going to start the first day of my senior year of high school. "I am going to college next year," I thought. I slowly got up and did my daily routines for getting ready. I had just started slipping on my bell bottom jeans when my phone started going off.

"Oh crap," I said as I tripped and fell on my face. I got up and finished shimmying into the tight denim jeans. Once I managed to button up my pants I picked up my phone to see that I had two messages. One from Jake Mason, my boyfriend, and one from an unknown number. Jake said that he couldn't wait for tonight, and I replied that I was equally excited and asked if it was casual or not. He said it was a surprise. I looked at the unknown message and it read for me to look outside my window. Creepy. Who was this stalker?

I was about to check what was outside when I heard something hit the window. I whipped my head around and walked over to the windowsill. I opened up the window and a rock hit me in the face.

"OW!" I exclaimed while pinching the bridge of my nose. It started bleeding, great. I held my head back and looked outside again.

"Sorry, Gardner! I didn't know that you were standing there!" Travis. I could kill him.

After a few seconds he said, "You know, we need to stop meeting up like this."

"Like what?" I asked, exasperated.

"Me hitting you in the face with things."

"Yeah that would be great," I said walking away to grab a tissue for my nosebleed.

"Hey, Kather, get back over here. I didn't tell you what I needed to yet!"

"What, Stoll?" I asked with a bored expression on my face.

"I just wanted to say hi," he stated with a smile.

"UGHH! You are unbelievable!" I was done with him so I slammed the window down and went downstairs to get my backpack and wait outside for the big, yellow death machine on wheels. AKA the bus. I may have been a little harsh on him, but I didn't care. What my dad had sad a couple nights ago was still in my thoughts. I was beginning to get paranoid that Jake would find out, but then I remembered that it wasn't even a date. It was… an outing… yeah an outing. I leaned against the stop sign with a huff as I tapped my foot. My patience was gone today thanks to that stupid boy. And here I was thinking he would be nice to me. I was so stupid for believing that. I had to keep my guard up, even though I told them not to prank me today, Travis proved that they clearly could not be trusted.

…

Once I got to school, I checked over my schedule one more time. I walked over to my locker and noticed a couple making out right where my locker should be. How awkward. I poked the guy on the shoulder and said, "Excuse me, this is my locker, and I would appreciate it if you would play tonsil hockey elsewhere." They stopped, and the girl gave me a dirty look before she pulled her boyfriend to some dark corner where they could do who knows what without interference. I shuddered.

I counted to three before opening my locker. Even though it was the first day, it would be shameful of me to underestimate the Stolls's power of finding my locker number and combo. When I opened it, I closed my eyes. Nothing. I peaked with one eye to find a clean, empty locker. Huh. I bet they are probably just bidding their time for the perfect moment.

…

I went through my first three classes with out so much as one remark to me from the two brothers. Actually, I hadn't even seen them once. I walked into my English class and took a seat in the middle of the third row. I took out a notebook and a green pen and sat them on my desk. I rested my head on my palm and looked at the clock. I began tapping my foot as a few more stragglers made their way inside the classroom. The five minute bell finally rang and a huge wave of students washed into the room. A seat to my right was left empty. The tardy bell rang and the teacher made his way inside.

"Alright class, My name is Mr. Smith," he said and began to write out his name on the board. As if we all needed clarification on how to spell his name. I sighed and began doodling in my notebook.

The door opened and a boy said, "Sorry Sir, I was just—"

"Just— no excuses Mr…"

"Stoll, Travis Stoll Sir." My head shot up at hearing the name.

"Ah yes, Mr. Stoll, I've heard a lot about your infamous tardies and pranks."

"…Thank you Sir?"

"Please, that is nothing to be thankful for," Oohs could be heard throughout the class, "Now please take a seat next to….," he looked at me and I asked, "Who me?"

"Yes, you. I am pointing at you aren't I? Now what is your name?"

"Katie Gardner. I'm sorry Mr. Smith, but you have got to be joking. There must be some other available seats…" I said while looking around the room.

"No, Ms. Gardner, I never joke. I am afraid that Mr. Stoll will be sitting next to you for the rest of the year," he added, "I hope you chose your seats wisely because that is where you will be seated for the rest of the year." A series of groans and complaints could be heard. "No exceptions." I glared at the teacher's back for the longest time that you would think I burned a hole through it.

Travis sat down next to me and asked the kid next to him if he could borrow a pencil. I rolled my eyes. As the teacher started writing on the board, I jotted down notes here and there. Travis didn't say anything to me the whole class and was the first one to leave once the bell rang. He didn't even send me a glance. Not one.

…

By the end of the day, I hadn't been pranked by the Stolls like I thought I would be. I saw Jake leaning against his car in the parking lot and went up to him.

"Hey."

"Hey, you," he said with his signature smile on his face. He opened up his arms and I gladly accepted his embrace. Jake always smelled of rust and oil, from him working in his dad's mechanic shop every day. He practically lived there.

I pulled away after a while and asked, "So, are you going to tell me where you're taking me tonight?"

Jake was about to respond when a loud bang could be heard next to us. I looked over to see Travis Stoll's truck surprisingly having troubles. If you look closely you can see the sarcasm in that last sentence.

Travis opened up the hood and coughed when the smoke swarmed around him. He cursed and asked Connor to apply the gas. Nothing good happened and he yelled at him to stop. Jake and I walked over and asked what happened.

"She just gave out when I tried to start the engine," Travis stated.

Jake gave a look at the engine and said, "Well, it looks like you've gotta clogged fuel filter. Do you think you could fix it up yourself or…?"

"Don't be stupid. Of course I can fix it up myself."

"Do you even know where the fuel filter is?" I couldn't help but start to chuckle, but one look from Travis and I covered it up by fake coughing.

"Do you even know where the fuel filter is?" Travis mocked, "I'll have you know that I know exactly where the fuel filter is Mason." He then leaned over to Connor and whispered, "What exactly is the fuel filter?"

"It's located near the driver's side in the back judging by this model. Also, a change of oil will get rid of that blue exhaust smoke."

"Thanks," Travis grounded out through clenched teeth. What crawled up his butt and died? Jake was only trying to help.

"Hey! What's your problem?" I asked him with my anger practically boiling over.

"Me!? I could ask you the same thing!" Travis looked furious now.

"What are you even talking about? You should be grateful that Jake helped you!"

"Oh, that's rich! You've been angry with me the whole day, and you want to know the best part?"

"What?" I asked with venom in my voice.

"I don't even know what I did wrong!" he screamed out, "And as for your perfect boyfriend over here, I didn't even ask for his help!"

"Why you little—"

"Okay! That's enough," Jake interrupted and picked me up around my waist to pull me away from Travis. I tried to fight back, but I was practically a twig in Jake's arms.

"Fine," I huffed out, "I'm done." I folded my arms across my chest and glared off to the distance like a child, while Jake continued to hold me above the ground

"Okay. We are going to go now. Bye, Travis. If you need any help with your truck just bring it into the shop," Jake said as he opened up the passenger door of his car and put me inside. I still wouldn't make eye contact with Travis. He didn't say good bye as we drove away.

The car was filled with silence for a few minutes as we drove to who knows where. There was a big elephant in the room that I was too stubborn to address. Jake never was the first one to speak, and always gave me my space when it came to arguments between Travis and I. I looked out the window and sighed. It wasn't Jake's fault that Travis and I butted heads so much. I might as well apologize while I still had some pride.

"Look, Jake, I'm sorry. You know how he gets to me."

"I'm just sorry that you can't ignore him. It would benefit everyone, Kates. It's not healthy for you to talk to someone who brings out the worst in you. I'm not mad at you. You know I could never be angry with you, I just—just wish that you could overlook the arguing," he paused to move a strand of hair behind my ear as we waited at a red light, "For me."

I blew out a breath and said, "You're right. Like always," I smiled, "I promise that I'll be on my best behavior around the Stolls."

"Good."

**Thank you all for the kind reviews, follows, and favs! And shoutout to that one guest review saying that you were hoping they would have kissed last chapter: I think we all were :p**


	5. Dates, Interruptions, and Gun Shots

Jake and I ended up going to the local diner for our date. He had planned to take me to a more upscale place, but my argument with Travis made us late for our reservation. He kept reassuring me that it was fine, but I still felt guilty. I managed to have a good time though. I joked that it seemed to work out that we ate here because I didn't dress up for a high class place. He managed a chuckle, even though it seemed forced. Even if Jake was mad at me, he didn't show it.

Time flew by and before I knew it, Jake was dropping me off and we were parked outside of my house. He walked with me to my door and we stood in silence for a while. The moon left a soft glow on Jakes hard features.

"I had a good time Jake."

"Well, I sure hope so." I laughed. We were looking into each others eyes when he leaned in. I closed my eyes and was ready to meet him halfway when Travis's pickup screeched into his driveway.

"Jesus Fuck," I said. Jake chuckled, his warm breath fanning my face.

"Connor! I said hit the brakes not the gas!" Travis yelled as he got out of the car and slammed the passenger door. The headlights turned off as Connor got out of the driver's side and yelled back, "Well, I just pressed the wrong pedal! Calm down will ya! I didn't hit anything!"

"Barely," Travis muttered. Connor stopped dead in his tracks as he gained vision of me.

"Oh. Hi Katie, Jake." Travis turned around and stood like a deer caught in headlights.

"Hey Connor," Jake gave a slight wave, and then put his hands in his pockets.

"We weren't interrupting anything, right?"

"No," Jake said at the same time that I replied, "Yes." We both looked back at each other.

"Well, we better get going. We've got a date later tonight," Travis said.

"Really? It's pretty dark out to be going out," Jake commented. I found Travis's statement hard to believe as well.

"No we don't. Travis what are you talking about?" Connor asked Travis.

"Yes we do," he added through clenched teeth, "Just go with it."

"Okay… well I better head home, Kates," Jake said turning his attention back to me. I made a sound of protest at the back of my throat. Those assholes ruin everything! Jake was just about to kiss me before they showed up.

"Bye, Stolls, see you at school," Jake said to the two devil spawns after he gave me a goodbye hug.

"Bye," I whispered to Jake's retreating figure. I sighed as I watched him drive off after giving me one last wave. I turned over to the Stolls and glared at them.

"Idiots. Why do have to ruin everything?"

"Us? You should be grateful that we showed up at the right moment. Or else—"

"Or else what, Travis?"

"Or else—"

"You know what? I don't even care to find out your stupid excuse. Just don't talk to me again Stoll." With that said I walked inside my house and slammed the door shut.

"Hey, honey, how was your date?" my dad asked me from the kitchen.

I stomped up the stairs and threw myself into my bed with a groan.

"That bad huh?" I heard him ask before my door slammed shut with a bang. Why did he have to ruin everything good that happens to me? First my date, and now my kiss. It seemed like he was put on this planet for the sole purpose of ruining my life. I drifted off to sleep as I was thinking of all the different ways to kill Travis.

…

When I woke up, my head was pounding so much that I thought my brain was going to explode. My dad had the day off, and told me it was better for me to stay home. I gave a good fight, but he said even if i did go, I wouldn't be able to focus. He had a point there, and I gave up. I laid down sideways while hugging my knees to my chest. My dad gave me twice the amount of pain killers and after a couple hours, the migraine switched into a subtle headache. I opened up my window to let some light inside my room, when I noticed both Stoll boys sitting in Travis's room. Connor saw me and immediately a smirk grew on his face. He mouthed something to his brother and Travis turned around. When he met my eyes, I automatically set my face into an icy glare. Connor got up and walked over to the windowsill despite the objections from Travis.

"Hey, Katie! We were just about to head out to the market to grab a few supplies. Care to join us? I know Travis here wouldn't mind," Connor asked me while giving a smirk to his brother.

"Yes I would," Travis sing-songed while managing to keep his eyes set into a hard glare directed at his brother.

I scoffed and said, "What does it matter what Travis thinks? I'm not going anywhere with him."

"Oh come on, Katie! Work with me here! My poor brother is set into a deep, dark depression, and it can only be removed if—" Travis cut off Connor's sentence by placing his hands over his mouth.

"What he _means _to say is that we would appreciate any extra hands, and I'll change the three weeks of not pranking you to a whole month." I weighed out the pros and cons of hanging out with the Stolls. In the end, I decided that a whole extra week of not being pranked was worth having to breathe the same air as Travis.

"Okay, Stoll. You've gotta deal."

…

We made our way over to the hardware store rather quickly. The boys ended up getting a wrench, three boxes each of nuts and bolts, and a hammer. The boys told me we were going to walk over to the Dollar Tree for a few more items. They told me to get a shitload of silly string and five bags of confetti. I didn't question it as I made my way down the aisle of party supplies. There were three color options for the silly string, green, blue, and red. I ended up getting blue. I got five bags of multicolored confetti as asked. We all met up at the cash registers. Travis was carrying seven cartons of milk and Connor was holding ten boxes of Barbie dolls. I didn't ask why they needed such random things.

We put all of the stuff in the passenger and the backseat of the pickup after it was decided that Connor and I would sit in the bed of the truck. Once everything was settled in and it was made sure that the milk wouldn't be tossed around we headed off to who knows where.

"Katie?"

"Yes, Connor?"

"Why are you so mad at my brother? He hasn't pranked you lately so…" he looked over to see his brother looking back at him through the rear-view mirror.

I let out a long sigh and said, "For many reasons Connor… many reasons…"

"Okay." He didn't speak up again. We ended up at the Tucker's farm. Travis parked the car next to their pond and got out, even though I protested that this was illegal judging by the keep out and private property signs. Both boys waved me off and replied in unison, "Yeah…yeah. That's just an…option."

"Still we shouldn't—"

"Jesus fuck, Gardner, are you coming in or not?" Travis asked me.

"Coming in where?"

"For a swim, Gardner. It's damn hot outside and I'm not going to sit around in the sun. You can wait here and broil if you like." He started walking away and began taking his shirt off so I averted my eyes. Luckily, he kept his pants on, but they hung dangerously low on his hips.

"But… I didn't bring a bathing suit…"

"So? Just keep your clothes on they'll dry… Or… you can go in your bra and underwear… I quite like the latter more… don't you Travis?" Connor turned to his brother as I blushed. Travis's ear turned crimson. After watching Connor run off the dock and do a cannonball into the cool water, I decided to hell with it. Travis jumped in next while his brother kept making chicken noises and calling me a chicken.

I decided to keep my shirt and shorts on despite the boys' protests and jumped into the refreshing water, splashing the two boys in the process.

"Hey!" Connor called out.

"Oops! Didn't see ya there!"

"Didn't see ya there my ass," he grumbled. I looked around for Travis but I couldn't find him.

"Hey… where's your stupid brother?" I got my answer when something tugged on my leg and pulled me down. I let out a screech. When I broke the surface gasping for breath I could see Travis and his brother laughing like mad men. Their laughter was cut short when a gun shot sounded out and a bullet broke through the surface a mere two feet away from the Stolls. We turned around to find Mr. Tucker pointing a rifle at us. Looking very angry might I add.

Mr. Tucker spit onto the ground and yelled out, "Well don't just bob there, you yellow bellies! Get off of my property! There is a sign outside, can't you read?" He didn't have to tell us twice as we quickly swam to shore and the boys ran for their discarded T-shirts.

"Now, I'm going to count to ten, and if you haven't driven out of my sight by then I won't be afraid to shoot again, and this time I won't miss." I wasn't going to take his threat for granted as I ran to climb into the bed of the pickup, Connor following right behind me. He was halfway done climbing inside when Travis reversed and started speeding back towards the highway. I reached over and grabbed Connor's hand to hoist him inside. We were both breathing heavily by the time Travis drove through the gate of the farm.

"You alright, Connor?" Travis called out.

"Yeah, I'm fine!" After a few seconds of silence, the two boys bursted out laughing. I hit Connor on the shoulder.

"Hey, you two, stop it! We could have been killed back there!"

"Oh! Live a little, Katie! We've done that plenty of times before, and Mr. Tucker has never managed to shoot us! It's all in good fun!" Connor exclaimed. I huffed and crossed my arms before giving in and laughing along with the two crazies.

"I guess it was pretty fun…"

"See! You should hang out with us more, Katie. You're already growing to be a more laid back person… you know not chasing us down and threatening to kill us…" I glared at him, but had to admit that he was right. I shrugged as I rested my head on my palm and watched the fields of golden brown pass by.

**Disclaimer: I don't own PJO, Barbie, or any Dollar Tree. Thank you for the follows and reviews! They make me so happy!**


	6. A Prank, Arguments, and the Truth

**Disclaimer: I don't own Percy Jackson and the Olympians. **

I came home with a permanent smile on my face. Most of my clothing had dried by the time Travis and Connor dropped me off, they said they had somewhere to be. My dad pretended not to notice and didn't say anything. Later in the day he came in my room and sat at my desk. He started spinning himself around in my chair, and I eventually told him to stop and tell me what he wanted to say. He eventually stopped spinning and let out a long sigh.

"Katie, you know you can tell me anything right?"

"Yes, dad…"

"Well… I've noticed that you've been spending a lot of time with the Stolls… and less time with Jake…"

"Dad, you know that he's always busy."

"Yes, but that doesn't mean he can use that as an excuse to not spend time with you."

"What are you trying to say?"

"I'm just saying that it seems that both times you went with the Stolls, you come home extremely happy, and I haven't seen you that happy in a long, long time."

"Well…"

"I just wanted to let you know what I've been seeing, I know you'll choose what's best for you…" And with that said he walked out of my room, and I was left extremely confused.

I understood what he meant with me being happy after being with the two brothers, but I thought that I had been happy with Jake. He was a great boyfriend. He always put my needs before his own. He cared about me, and kept me happy. So, why couldn't my dad see that? While I was still thinking over what my dad's point was my phone went off.

I checked it, and saw that Jake had texted me.

_Where were you today?_

_Headaches._

_That's not what I heard._

_What?_

_There's a picture of you with the Stolls._

_Yeah, I hung out with them today… Why?_

_Why? Because I just got pranked by them. _

_WHAT?_

_When I opened my locker, a bunch of milk poured over me, and then silly string got sprayed on me, and then a bunch of confetti flew on me. _

I called him. He picked up on the third ring.

"Hello?" he asked in an annoyed voice.

"What do you mean they pranked you?"

"I mean they pranked me, Kates, and I have a hunch that you helped them."

"No, I would never do that. You know I hate their pranks." I don't know how I stayed so calm.

"Whatever, Katie I just think it's funny that you and the Stolls didn't show up for school today." He hung up.

I didn't know they were going to use all that stuff to prank Jake. I felt horrible, and guilty, until I remembered that I didn't actually prank him. It couldn't believe that Jake would think I would work together with the Stolls. Sure, there's a picture of us together, but— My train of thought got cut off when I wondered who had actually taken the picture. Had someone from school seen us earlier? Did one of the Stolls take it? The possibilities were endless. I couldn't believe that the Stolls would prank Jake. He was only ever nice to them.

That was my first ever argument with Jake, and I didn't know where we stood. I wondered if we would even still be together tomorrow. The thought made me want to cry. Jake was my first real boyfriend, and I wasn't ready to lose him. Once, I was able to control my emotions again, I walked over to my window and yelled out, "STOLLS!"

"Yes, Kather?" Travis asked with a sly smile. His brother stood beside him.

"Did you guys prank Jake?" The smile slipped off of his face. They looked at each other.

"Yeah, but I just—"

I cut him off, "But, nothing, Travis. I'm done with you two. I thought we were friends now." I couldn't believe these two. I closed my window and sat in my bed to sulk.

…

The next day at school, people kept looking at me. Some looked at me with pity and others smiled at me. I didn't know what to think of it. But, that wasn't what bothered me. Every time I tried to go up to Jake he would walk away or avoid me. After a few tries and failures I decided to go up to the Stolls. They had to tell me what actually happened, and maybe they could explain the situation to Jake.

I spotted Travis standing in the foyer with some of his friends and tapped him on the shoulder. He turned around and I caught a glimpse of his happy expression before it turned into a frown.

"I need to talk to you,"I said.

"Okay."

"Alone," I added while looking back at his friends. He responded by nodding his head and motioning for me to follow him. He led me to a bench outside of one of the classrooms and patted the space next to him. I sat down at the other side of the bench. He scrunched up his eyebrows after noticing this.

"Look," I deadpanned, "I know you and Connor pranked Jake, and even though I'm pissed at you guys, I need your help. He thinks that I helped you two and now he's mad at me. I need you to explain to him what happened."

"He's your boyfriend. Why can't you talk to him?"

"Because he's been ignoring me all day."

He went quite in thought for a while until he finally said, "I guess I could talk to him if that's what you want."

"Yes, thank you! Thank you!" I lunged at him and hugged him out of excitement and gratefulness. He stood shocked for a moment, but then he wrapped his arms around me and hugged me back. I felt him rest his head on mine as he began rubbing circles on my back and drawing patterns between my shoulder blades. I pulled away after a while, a smile still on my face.

"You're welcome," he breathed out quietly.

After sitting on the bench for a few more seconds, I said, "Well, I better head off to class, I don't want to be late. Thanks again, Travis. It means a lot." I got up and left him sitting on the bench giving me a small wave.

…

After school, I got a call from Jake. He said that he was stupid for ever thinking that I would help the Stolls, and if I could forgive him. I did, of course, and he told me how Travis of all people had told him what happened, and owned up to his prank. I replied that I also couldn't believe it even though I knew why Travis did that. He also told me the real reason behind the prank according to Travis. That's what I really couldn't believe. Jake wondered how I hadn't noticed, and told me that Travis told Jake to not tell me. He then said he had to go and the call went dead.

After doing some homework, and sitting in my office chair while leaning back and looking at the ceiling for probably an hour, I finally worked up the courage to go up to my window and confront Travis. It was the right thing to do, in my opinion.

I stood looking at his window for a good ten minutes, and right when I was about to say something, his window opened up and he said, "Gardner, there's something I need to tell you."

"Me too." I noticed he had a black eye, and I asked, "What happened?

"Umm… your boyfriend gave it to me, but it's okay."

"Not it's not, Travis, you—" I stopped once he gave me a look.

Okay, look, I already told Jake this, but I thought I should tell you too," he stopped talking and drew in a breath to regain his courage.

Before he could go on any longer, I said, "I know."

"What? How?"

"Jake… Jake told me."

"Oh."

"Yeah." We kept standing there and staring at each other until my dad called me.

"I gotta go. Bye, Travis. Make sure to put some ice on that beauty mark."

He let out a chuckle and said, "Bye, Kather."

…

My dad and I ate soup again. He told me about his day, and I lied about mine. He kept looking over at the empty chair throughout dinner, and I had had enough.

"Dad… You know she isn't coming back."

"I know, I just miss her."

"Me too," I said while reaching across the table and giving his hand a reassuring squeeze.

"We don't need her, dad. We've gone years without her, and we've been perfectly fine."

"I know. You're right. Like always," he said while flashing me a smile. "You look so much like her you know. Act like her too."

I didn't know what to say to that so I just smiled and continued eating.

**Thanks for all the reviews! I'm sorry I couldn't update yesterday. I don't really like this chapter...**


	7. Passing Notes, A Party, and The Stars

**Disclaimer: I am not Rick. **

I couldn't wait for the weekend to start. This had been one crazy week and it had taken its tole on me. I was sitting in English class trying to pay attention when a note landed on my desk. I looked around and noticed Travis was smiling at me and pointing at the note. I opened it wearily.

It read: _Hey, Kather, come to the party tonight with me and Connor?_

I ignored that he should have wrote Connor and I and wrote back: _Sure. _I crumpled it into a ball and threw it at Travis's head. He gave me a weird look as he picked it up off the floor. I had trouble holding in my laughter, but once Mr. Smith turned around I went stiff and went back to taking notes.

The note was back on my desk and he told me that they would pick me up at eight. He doodled a horrible drawing of what I assumed to be the Stolls and I. Connor looked like he was dying and I was just standing there as stick-figure-Travis tortured Connor. I rolled my eyes and stuffed the paper into my backpack.

A few seconds later another note was thrown on my desk. _Not everyone is invited to the party so don't tell anyone. _

I sealed my lips and threw away the key. The bell rang and I got up and pushed my way through the hallway to my locker. When I opened it I noticed a piece of paper fall to the floor. Yet another note. Well, wasn't I little miss popular today. It was from Travis, again. He wrote for me to not be mad at Jake for punching him, and that he hoped what happened two days ago wouldn't change anything between him and I. That dope. Only Travis would write a note to me and put it in my locker instead of telling me. The note made me smile though because he taped a small flower to the paper. Presumably stolen from my garden.

…

I didn't tell Jake about how I was going to the party with the Stolls. Even, though Jake said he was cool about the Travis liking me ordeal, I knew he still felt insecure about it. On our way over to Will Solace's house for the party, Connor told me everything I needed to know on how to have fun at a party. I only half-listened to what he had to say. When we got inside, Connor walked off to some room and I just kept by Travis. A few people went up and talked to him, and he politely said hi back and introduced me.

Will Solace was handsome with bright blonde hair and blue eyes. I recognized him as the guy who was constantly playing his guitar and singing songs for people. He was nice and offered me a drink, but one look at the brown liquid and I declined his offer. He shrugged and walked off with the beverage.

Travis led me over to the kitchen and told me to wait for him as he walked off to who knows where. Percy and Annabeth walked in holding hands. I had always thought they were the cutest couple.

"Hey, have you guys seen Jake?"

"No, I haven't seen him. Why?" Percy asked.

"Just wondering," I said with a smile.

He nodded at me then began whispering in Annabeth's ear. They started kissing and I felt awkward just standing there so I walked out. I found my way to the makeshift dance floor, and a guy who I didn't recognize came up to me and asked me to dance with him. He was holding a red solo cup and had a stain on his shirt. I shook my head, but he grabbed my hand and pulled me toward him and started swaying.

"I really should go."

"Aw. Come on. Just one dane." he whispered into my ear. I started to panic and the amount of people in this room made me start to sweat. I stepped on his foot and as he went to grab it, cursing, I walked outside to get some fresh air. I sat down on a lawn chair and noticed that the backyard had lights hung up around the patio. I kept sitting there admiring the decorating job until Travis came outside and asked people if they had seen me.

I got up and told him what happened.

"Come on, let's go! Tell me if you spot Connor!" He had to yell in my ear for me to hear him as he led me threw the new crowds of people. I noticed that he was holding my wrist, and I adjusted my arm so he was holding my hand. I didn't want to get lost. He looked down at our hands and gave a squeeze, but kept going.

We found Connor hitting on a girl with golden hair. I was going to walk up to him, but Travis told to leave him be, and we went outside and got in the pickup. He put the key in the ignition and it started up. He must have taken it to Jake's dad's shop. I didn't make a comment about it because I was still iffy about the whole Jake and Travis talk.

"Gardner, where do you want to go?" Travis asked me. I shrugged.

"Never mind, I know just the place," he said pulling out of the driveway.

…

Travis ended up taking me to the local park.

"The park… Travis, we aren't five anymore," I said, but I was grinning at the thought of all my childhood memories here.

"Gardner, come on, it'll be fun!" he said with excitement.

"Okay."

He ran over to the playground and I followed behind him. I sat down on top of a bench and watched him run around like a little kid.

He hung on the monkey bars upside down and said, "I bet you couldn't do this, Gardner."

I rolled my eyes and replied, "Of, course I can, Travis. I just don't want to."

"Yeah… you're probably right. I knew you weren't fun enough to do it," he said with disappointment in his voice.

"Oh yeah. Watch me," I said walking over to him. He got off and had a smile on his face. I knew this is what he wanted, but I couldn't stand losing anything to Travis. I went upside down and said, "See." My shirt went down, exposing my stomach, and I tucked it in my pants out of embarrassment.

"Huh. I guess you are fun, Gardner," Travis said while leaning against the slide and crossing his arms. He looked upside from my position. I felt blood rush to my head, and decided it was time to get off the monkey bars. I gracefully fell on my butt and Travis laughed.

"Shut up," I said.

"As you wish," he said and then he went quiet.

"Travis… Say something! You've never gone this long being quite before!"

He just shook his head and turned away from me. I started thinking of different ways to get him to talk. I crept up behind him and started tickling his sides. He flinched, and started laughing. He bent over and begged me to stop.

I replied, "As you wish," and pulled my hands back.

"HAHA. Very funny Gardner."

I flashed him a smile. He started walking over to the pickup, but instead of getting in the car he climbed into the bed of the truck. He helped pull me up, and we laid down side-by-side, looking up at the stars.

Travis pointed up to the night sky and said, "You know, I used to think that the stars were where you went when you died."

"Really? Why don't you still?"

"Because, science ruins everything, and said that stars were just balls of gas."

"Well, I think it's a great idea. I've never thought of it that way."

"What do you think the stars are?"

"I just thought they were fireflies that got stuck in space." He laughed.

"Hey! I said yours was a good idea! You can't just laugh at mine!"

"Sorry! It's a wonderful idea, Gardner. I just wonder why fireflies were in space in the first place."

"On a space mission, duh. Come on, Travis, keep up."

"My bad," by now we weren't looking at the sky anymore. I kept staring into his eyes, noticing how they were as blue as the ocean, and how the light pole, gave off just enough light to outline his face.

"Gardner…" he whispered.

"Yeah?" I asked just as softly.

"When you look at me like that, you give me false hope."

"Oh. I'm sorry," I said blushing and looking away from is gaze.

"Don't apologize," he said. "Hey, look at me," he said while moving my head so I was looking directly at him, "It's not your fault that I like you."

I didn't know what to say so I just nodded.

He let go of my face and leaned his head back, "God, Gardner, you don't even know the half of it."

"Stop…" my voice was shaky, and I mentally cursed at myself to get a grip. I have a boyfriend, and this isn't him. Just because he says sweet things to me doesn't mean I have to swoon at his feet. This is the 21st century, women are powerful and strong individuals that don't need men to tell them nice things, but did it sure feel great.

"No," he said, "You need to hear this, I drank a little back at the party, and I have liquid courage. If not today…" He paused, "I like you, okay? I like your smile, and I like how you can have a sense of humor, when you aren't pissed at me for pranking you. I like how you don't realize how badly I've fallen for you. And I like your innocence. I know you're dating Jake, and you like him, trust me, he made that perfectly clear," he stopped and pointed to his fading black eye, I managed a smile, "I just needed to tell you how I feel," he finished.

It occurred to me that he may only be saying these things because he was drunk, but he didn't seem drunk"Travis… That's incredibly sweet of you, but…"

"But…"

"But, I'm dating Jake and I'm happy with him. You can't expect me to just let that go…"

"I know…," he said, "I know."

…

The ride back was dead quite. I felt bad for rejecting him, but I couldn't leave Jake. He was my first boyfriend, and I was too afraid to let that go. He parked in his driveway and sat back in his seat.

"Thank you, Travis, for telling me." I mentally slapped myself. Thanks for telling me? Way to go Katie.

He chuckled, "You're welcome? Don't worry, Gardner, I'm a big boy, I'll get over it."

I kept looking at him,but I didn't know what I was looking for. He was looking back at me, and I knew he wouldn't get over it. The way he was looking at me right now was making my knees weak, and I was thankful that I was sitting down.

He started leaning in and my breath hitched.

"Stop…" I breathed out. He hesitated, but kept leaning in closer and closer. I could feel his hot breath mingling with mine. I knew this was going downhill, and that there was no way I could cheat on Jake, but in the moment I didn't push him away or back off. Moths were swarming in the pit of my stomach out of anticipation. I just sat there and eventually when his lips found mine, I fell into him.

His lips moved against mine, and after a while I found a rhythm. It was slow, and exciting, and different. My mind went into overdrive, and I couldn't think straight.

I had a new idea about the stars. They were when someone kissed you, shocking, and bright. You felt like the other person had just painted the sky for you, and the only thing you desperately wanted in that moment was to have their lips against yours.

**God, I loved writing this chapter. This story isn't near over yet! Thanks for the reviews! I hope the Tratie in this chapter was sufficient enough! **

**Guest c5: The Stolls are also my favorite minor characters! I wish they would have been mentioned more in the books :/**

**Lizzy Dane c5: HAHA! Thank you! That chapter was really fun for me to write!**


	8. Dropped Cereal, Breakups, and Thorns

**Disclaimer: I do not own PJO or the characters in any way, however, this is my story. **

We continued kissing for hours. He had put the middle console back to make it more comfortable. I wrapped my arms around him, and put my weight against his as he laid down. I felt him smile through the kiss, and it made me feel giddy all the way down to my toes. Kissing took out a lot of my energy and I pulled away, my lips feeling tingly and numb , and yet, I could still feel how good it was to kiss him. I laid down, resting on his chest while he played with my hair. I could hear his heartbeat, and like a lullaby, it sent me to sleep. Before I drifted into my subconscious, I felt a light pressure on my head, and I hoped it was Travis's lips.

…

I woke up from the sun's rays blasting through my window. I sat upright and brought my fingers up to my lips. They were swollen and chapped. I looked across the room to Travis's window. I wondered if his lips were as swollen as mine, and if he even remembered last night. Part of me hoped that he would remember what was, for me, the best night of my life. The other part of me knew it would be better if Travis forgot. He stated that he had some liquid courage, but I didn't know how much he had actually drunk. It could be like my own little secret, and I wouldn't have to tell Jake. I sighed, knowing that I would never be able to keep this from him. I was guilty enough from cheating on him, and I was a horrible liar. I walked downstairs and clumsily made my way to the kitchen.

"Good morning, Honey," my dad said while bringing a hot cup of Joe to his lips. I grunted in response. My mind was still reeling about last night, and I subconsciously touched my lips. I could remember exactly how it felt, to have his lips against mine, and I craved more. Then I remembered that my dad was in the room, and I poured myself some cereal.

"Have fun last night?" he asked me.

"Y—Yeah," I stuttered.

"Glad," he continued, "You know, last night was the funniest thing… Travis Stoll rang the doorbell last night at abut two in the morning, and guess what he was holding."

"What?" I asked in my dazed state.

"My daughter. Asleep. In Travis Stoll's arms."

"Uh huh," I responded still not paying attention.

"All right then. I was hoping for more clarification on that, but I guess you aren't capable of giving me a response with more than one word."

I whipped my head back and asked, "What? I'm sorry dad. I was just… daydreaming."

"Right…" He said, "I was just wondering what Travis Stoll was doing with you asleep in his arms at two in the morning."

I dropped my bowl of cereal and it shattered. Milk and cheerios flooded the tile.

"What did you say?" I asked again.

"My God! Honey, are you okay? Step away from the glass. I'll clean up the mess. Just go up to your room, we'll talk about this later," He said while shooing me away. I nodded and slowly made my way up the stairs.

Had Travis carried me to my house? Had he been inside my room? I kept looking over at his window hoping that it would open, and he would call me one of his stupid nicknames, and everything would go back to normal, but, alas, the window stayed closed, leaving me to sit with my thoughts. I wondered how I was going to tell Jake. Would he get angry with me? Would he feel betrayed? Would he forgive me? I snorted at the last one. There was no way he could forgive me. I know I wouldn't if I was him. I felt horrible just thinking about it. Jake didn't deserve this.

I picked up my phone and clicked on his contact. My fingers hovered above the call button, but I couldn't do it. The least I could do was tell him in person. Instead of calling, because I couldn't trust my voice, I texted him to meet me at the ice-cream parlor. The same place Travis had taken me when I got my concussion.

…

"Hey, Kates! I heard you went to the party last night, but I couldn't find you." He took a huge bite out of his vanilla ice-cream. I've always hated that flavor.

"Yeah. I left early."

"Oh. So… What's up?"

"Look… There's something I need to tell you…"

"You're not breaking up with me. Are you?" he asked playfully.

"Not exactly…" He looked up and a confused expression took over his face. "Last night… I… umm…" I drifted off.

"What?"

"IkissedTravis," I blurted out. I couldn't meet his eyes. I knew that if I looked into them I would melt.

"What?" he asked.

"I'm sorry, Jake, it was just in the spur of the moment. He—"

"I don't want to hear it. If you like him then by all means, go out with him, cos we're over," he got up and walked out. I rested my elbows on the table and brought my hands up to my temple. I let out a long and shaky breath. I kept repeating in my inner monologue, "Breathe in. Breathe out." It was my mantra as of two seconds ago. Then it hit me. I had just told Jake that I cheated on him, and he had broken up with me. It stung a little bit, but I had expected my heart to feel broken if Jake and I ever split up. I felt more relieved than anything. I had told him the truth. I didn't lie, not that I would have been able to anyways. He had broken it off. Jake was no longer my boyfriend.

I had called Travis to pick me up, but instead his brother picked up the phone saying that Travis was out. He said he would pick me up in a tick. I rolled my eyes at his horrible attempt to act British. I came to the conclusion that the girl from the party was from England. I sat down on a bench outside and wondered where Travis could possibly be that would make him forget to bring his phone.

Connor pulled up to the curb pulling me from my thoughts. I looked up and saw that he was driving his mom's mini van. He kept honking repeatedly.

"Will you stop with the honking already!" I yelled as I got in the car. "Nice wheels," I added on.

"I know right," he said in mock excitement as he switched lanes without checking his mirrors or putting on his blinker. I guess horrible driving ran in the Stoll blood.

"So… my brother was extra cheerful this morning. Anything happen last night?" he asked with a smirk.

"It depends… Did Travis mention anything?"

"No, he was very mysterious about it, and I think it has something to do with you."

I didn't know if I should tell him. If Travis hadn't brought it up then it was obviously meant to be kept between us for now. He told Connor everything.

"Nothing happened. Honest," I lied. Horrifically.

"Katie, you are a horrible liar. But that's okay, because Travis will make up for that if you two ever get in trouble."

"Why would we be getting in trouble?" I asked with raised brows.

"_Because_, you're a couple now. And I hate to break it to you, but you're bound to see Travis run into trouble. It's a package deal."

"Is it now?"

"Aha! So you do admit that you are together! I knew it! Of course I thought it would take him a whole 'nother month to grow a pair and tell you, but…" he trailed off.

"Excuse me? We aren't together! We just kissed, Connor. Just kissing! Nothing more, nothing less!" It was spectacular kissing, though.

"I don't think that's what Travis is feeling… He really likes you you know," he told me.

"I know…" I whispered.

…

Connor drove like a mad man the rest of the way back. He pulled into the driveway in record time. I said thanks and walked up to my house. I reached into my pocket, but I couldn't find them. I patted both my back pockets then pulled out my front ones. I checked the pocket in my hoodie, but no such luck. I left my keys inside the house. I groaned then started walking around the house trying to find a way in. It occurred to me how pathetic this was, having to break into my own home. I spotted a low enough window that if I climbed the veranda I would be able to reach it and lift it up. There was ivy growing along side it that reached all the way to the ground. It was helpful in a time of need, like this one. I put my foot in a hold and reached up with my hand to grab on, but a thorn pricked me.

"Ow!" I yelled as I pulled my hand away and started shaking it. However, since only my foot was attached, and I pulled back from the thorns, I started falling backwards. I flailed about and screamed until I landed on the grass. My back hurt, a lot. I heard laughter and looked over to the noise.

"Katie! You could have just come inside my house! But, that was quite a show you put on! Thank you! I needed that!" Connor called at me while clutching at his stomach. I glared, but had to admit, that was pretty stupid of me. I got up, and winced at my back pains. My head was dizzy from the sudden movement, and I put my arms out to the sides to regain balance. Once the world stopped spinning, I walked over to the Stolls house and knocked on the door. I could hear heavy footsteps, and Connor opened the door within seconds.

"Welcome to my humble abode," he continued, "Over here you will find the living room. A place in which I spend most of my time on the couch and sleeping. And over here, you can find the kitchen, a place that I am banned permanently from. My mother's orders. And over there are the stairs and laundry room. I don't spend much time in there. I have my mom clean my clothes. Why do work when you have parents who are perfectly capable of doing it for you. After all, it's practically their job," he finished with a cheeky smile.

"Right…" I said, "I don't even know what to say."

"Don't fret. Most girls are left breathless in my presence," he added, "But don't tell my brother that."

I raised my arms and replied, "No promises."

**Thank you for the reviews! They mean so much to me! over 30 reviews! That's crazy! That may not be a lot to some of you, but to me it means the world!**

**Also, did anyone happen to catch anything having to do with the title last chapter...**

**Lizzy Dane c7: No, I didn't have any writers block for that chapter. I actually had writers block for chapter 6. That's why I wasn't sure if I liked it or not... Also, Thank you, I like the chapter titles too! :)**

**TiggerandCammiandPercy c7: I thinnk so too :)**

**Guest: I sure hope you are shipping them now... They are the best next to Percabeth of course...**

**Pink Lady of Love c7: Well... they broke up... pretty immediately XD **


	9. Accidents, Movies, and Lazy Afternoons

**Disclaimer: I do not own Percy Jackson and the Olympians.**

I had been sitting with Connor in his room for about an hour. I had originally planned to leave the Stoll's house through Travis's window, but Connor insisted that I hang out with him to cure him of his "loneliness". He had introduced me to a shooting game on his gaming system where you were in the U.S. army during the 1940s, and your mission was to shoot as many Nazis as you could. To put it in a nutshell, I sucked. It was pretty tragic actually.

Connor was about to beat me for probably the thirtieth time when I heard Travis's truck pull into the driveway.

"Connor! Do you know where the first-aid kit is?" Travis sounded out after I heard the slam of the front door.

Connor looked over at me then got up, beckoning me over, and replied, "Yeah! One sec!"

He walked down the stairs, me following hot on his heels. He walked over to a closet to get the first-aid kid, and I walked over to Travis in the kitchen. His back was to me as he opened the freezer to grab a frozen bag of peas. He turned around and his eyes grew in size at the shock of seeing me in his house.

"Kather? W—What are you doing here?"

"I locked myself out of my house," I finally got a good look at his face and noticed cuts along his jaw and neck, a few bruises here and there. I questioned him, "Travis! What the hell?"

"Nothing. I just got in a little accident…"

I pulled my eyebrows together in thought then it finally clicked. Accident. I walked over to the living room, looking outside the window and noticed that his car had a dent on the driver's side of the hood.

"Oh my gods. Travis, what happened? Are you alright?"

"A guy pulled out of his driveway without checking and hit me. I'm alright. The airbag took most of the blow. I called the insurance and the guy is going to pay for everything…"

The bruises couldn't have only been from the accident, any idiot could point that out. His truck may not be top notch, but it was still safe. I was about to speak when he cut me off, "On another note, I got you this." He reached into a bag and pulled out a box. I raised my eyebrow up at him, almost saying that we would talk about this later.

I opened it up and saw that there was a copy of _A Wrinkle in Time_.

"Found it!" Connor walked in holding the white box with a red cross on it. He stopped in his tracks after noticing Travis's appearance. I set the book down on the counter.

"Dude! What happened?"

"Just an _accident_," he said. Connor dropped the subject and started pulling out the antiseptic. I pushed him away after seeing him trying to rip open the smallest band-aid.

"Connor, will you please stop? I've got this." I picked up the kit and brought it next to the sink and beckoned Travis over. I put his hands underneath the hot water and he winced. I gave him a towel to clean up his face, and once he was finished I went to work. I made sure to dab lightly, the cuts were deep, and I could tell they stung like a bitch.

Connor had walked out a few minutes ago to check on the pickup so I asked him, "What really happened?" My voice was strong and demanding.

He sighed and was silent for a long pause then said, "It was just… Just a little scuffle…"

I stopped my hands from cleaning his wounds then looked him in the eyes. I asked him, not satisfied with his answer, "A _scuffle_?"

"Yeah. I—I mean…" a pause, "It was just a meeting."

His tone told me to drop the subject so instead of pressing on I said, "Thank you for the gift. It's nice."

"Really?"

"Yeah, I mean it's thoughtful. I didn't know you had remembered." I had once told my friends in class during sophomore year that my favorite book as a child was _A Wrinkle in Time_. My mom had always read it to me when I was younger. It had been our thing till I was seven years old. By then I was faking that I needed to be read a bed time story. I just enjoyed that her voice was the last thing I heard when I went to sleep. I remember mouthing the well-known words to myself.

"How could I forget?" I looked up at him and gave a light peck to his cheek bone. He smirked at me, and I finished up with the gauze.

"All finished," I said softly. I went to put the kit back but Travis grasped my wrist.

"I'll tell you later. I promise. Just—just now is not the time." I nodded then proceeded with putting away with the first-aid kit.

…

Travis and Connor insisted that I come with them to the movies. I was reluctant to go, however, because those two boys could be the loudest people if they wanted to. I told them I would only go if I got to pick the movie. Connor was apprehensive to give me that power, but Travis shot him a look to not complain.

I ended up choosing whatever movie was showing at the time. I had never heard of it before.

Connor made a big fuss at the concession stand when the lady gave him a _medium _drink instead of a _large _one. He claimed that it was only ten cents more for a big difference in the amount of soda. I just told Travis I would share something with him. The girl working the concession stand had given Travis an odd look. She probably thought Connor was going for round two, because he had made a beeline for the soda fountain after receiving his popcorn, candy and drink. Travis ended up getting a medium popcorn and a pack of sour patch. I knew he had had an obsession with the sour candy every since he was little.

Connor was being extra loud while we were trying to find seats in the dim lit room.

A women made sounds of protest when he tripped on her leg, and he responded, "Hey! Watch it lady!"

We finally found our seats—I was between the two—and Connor was digging his hand into the golden sweets and shoving them into his mouth, making loud smacking noises. The whole of the theater were telling him to shut his mouth to which he gracefully replied, mouth still full, "Shut up! Some people are trying to enjoy the movie!" He muttered afterwards, "The nerve of some people."

I rolled my eyes then turned my attention back to the screen. The movie was about a girl who played the guitar and a boy at her school, whom she had a crush on, found her playing and said that she was really good. I scoffed at the one dimensional characters in this horrible film. She was oblivious to his feelings for her until the very end where they confessed their undying love for one another and kissed in the coincidental rain. Shocker.

A little bit into the movie I felt Travis's hand tenderly wrap around mine. I knit our fingers together and visibly relaxed.

Connor had not picked up on the plot and was shouting his disbeliefs and surprises the entire film.

"Oh come on!" he yelled when the couple got interrupted right when they were about to kiss.

"Yes!" he whispered like a snake when Tanner, the boy, had gotten her a spot in the school's talent show.

"Oh no! Tanner! No! You fool!" He complained when Tanner had seen another boy kissing, Jane, the girl. If he had stayed for five more seconds he would have seen her push the guy away and heard her say that she likes Tanner. Travis bet me that Tanner would say his feelings for Jane in some other way than having to talk, and he was right. In the next scene, Tanner dropped off red roses on her doorstep. I wrinkled my nose at the sight. Anyone who knew flowers like me would know there were so many other flowers having to do with love that looked and smelled better. Travis told me he would get his earnings after the movie was over and I rolled my eyes.

The movie finally ended, and Connor had just finished Travis and I's abandoned popcorn. Travis had been whispering in my ear time to time. Sometimes it would be about Connor and I would laugh, but other times I would blush.

…

It was a long ride back home with Connor critiquing the film. He kept asking us if we had guessed the plot twists and we both said yes. He would look confused for a moment, but then would lie that he also knew what was going to happen.

Travis walked me up to my door and said, "Well, Kather, it appears that you owe me a prize."

"What do you want Travis?"

"A kiss," he pointed to his cheek and I laughed but stood up to my tip-toes and leaned in anyways. At the last second he turned his head and pressed his lips to mine. I pulled back in shock, but Travis cupped my cheek and brought a hand to my waist, affectively pulling me towards him. I kissed him wholeheartedly, sighing when he lightly nipped my bottom lip, and I felt him smile. I continued kissing him, slowly, and tentatively. Kissing him was like a lazy afternoon in the sun, and I didn't want the sun to ever set.

** I hope this fixes the weird format it had D: Thank you for the reviews! Sorry I couldn't update sooner! I had writers block and school was getting in the way!**

**JeSsIcA: Yes, Katie's mom did leave**

**Lizzy Dane: Thank you! Demigods will appear here and there**

**RangerFantasy: Thank you! I hope to write a whole lot more :)**


	10. Tanner, Barbecues, and Water Balloons

**Disclaimer: I do not own Travis, Katie, or Connor. **

"Did that beat Tanner's kiss?" Travis asked me.

I laughed and answered, "I don't know. I haven't ever kissed Tanner. It would be unfair of me to say who is the better kisser." Travis. Travis by a long shot.

He smirked and said, "Gardner, admit it, I'm a great kisser."

"You wish."

"You wound me," he brought up his hand up to his chest and feigned hurt.

We were standing on my porch for a while until he spoke up, "Kather… Look, I should tell you what happened earlier today. I actually did get in an accident, but… Most of the bruises are from when I went into town… And…"

"It's okay, Travis. You don't have to tell me. I-I think I know what happened. I'm not sure on who did it, but I have an idea." Travis was on the bad side of plenty of people from his constant pranking, but I didn't think anyone could hold that much of a grudge on him. His pranks usually never hurt anyone, they were meant to be funny.

"Are you mad?" he asked after a while.

"At you? No. You may piss me off from your pranks, but I couldn't be mad at you for this. I'm not mad at… 'them' either… Even though I should be."

He breathed out then said, "Thank god. Don't go trying to beat anyone up."

"I swear if you keep smiling I will kick you in the head."

"You'll have to kick very high," he finished with a smirk.

"Watch it! Or so help me—"

"Or what?"

"I-I'll…"

"You'll what?"

"Will you please shut up so I can tell you how I'm going to torture you?" I asked getting aggravated.

"Okay," he said going in for the kill. His hands went round my waist, and I put my hands on his shoulders to keep myself from falling backwards. I was going to push him away, but I thought to hell with it. It took all of my willpower not to swoon.

…

It was Sunday, and on Sundays I usually stayed in my room doing nothing. However, on this certain Sunday, my dad informed me that we were invited to a barbecue at the Stoll's house. I made a face but got ready anyways.

I could smell the food from my room, and it motivated me to dress quicker.

"Okay, you ready?" my dad asked.

"Yeah."

"Okay, honey, you can head over there if you'd like. I have to see if the potato salad is finished."

I nodded then made the trek to their backyard. I didn't know they had a pool, or this nice of a yard. I pictured there being dead grass since their mom was a cop and was never home. I found it funny that she ended up raising a couple of delinquents.

"Hey, Kather," Travis said from one of the recliners. He got up and grabbed my hand to lead my over to the chairs. His shirt was off and you could see the dipping and rising of his muscles and the smattering of hair below that disappeared into his trunks. He patted the space next you him and I sat down.

"Okay, so, I know that homecoming isn't till like October or whatever, but I was thinking that you could go with me."

"I don't know…" I said thinking it over. "Would you be dressed up?" I asked.

"Only if you want me to be."

"It couldn't hurt…"

He laughed and said, "Okay, but only if you dress up too."

"Heels?"

"Not if you don't want to… I don't know…"

"Then, no to heels."

"No to heels," he repeated.

"Okay," I said dragging out the word, "I guess it wouldn't be that bad to go to homecoming with you. Even though it's not until October or whatever," I mocked.

"Cool." He intertwined his hand in mine again, his thumb brushing the back of my hand in fluid motions.

"CANNONBALL!" Connor shouted out of no where, jumping into the pool. Travis and I were apparently sitting in the splash zone.

"How was that?" Connor asked once resurfacing.

"Uh… I'd give it a seven," Travis answered.

My mouth dropped in shock and I said, "Well, Jesus, Connor, that was probably the biggest splash I have ever witnessed. I give it a ten easily. I mean it's probably due to the fact that your fat ass sends waves through the whole pool, but…" I trailed off in a teasing manner.

Travis was laughing as Connor's face turned into a hard glare.

"You'll regret that, Katie, you just wait," he said while pointing back and forth between himself and me, "I'm watching you," he finished.

"Okay, sure, whatever," I dismissed his threat. What a stupid mistake on my part. If only I had known.

…

Dinner was great, and my stomach felt like it was going to explode by the time I was done. Travis, of course, was on his third helping, and started scraping off my left overs. I rolled my eyes and looked around for Connor, but he was nowhere to be seen. I wanted to re-match him at that stupid video game. I looked up cheats online, and I was sure I could beat him now.

"Hey, Travis, where is—"

"Take that!" someone shouted from the roof as a water balloon smacked me. The person kept firing water balloon after water balloon, and sadly they had great aim. Travis got pelted with a few too. I tried to hide behind the recliner, but to no avail, I still got soaked to my bones.

"Connor," I gritted out. My face turning into a murderous glare. I could hardly move an inch without getting hit by water balloons.

"I hope you regret what you said, Katie!" He yelled from the roof.

"Kather, just jump in the pool. If you're underwater, there will be no point in him throwing water balloons." Travis told me while pulling me along to the edge of the pool. We both jumped in and when I opened my eyes underwater, I could see bubbles floating to the surface.

"Travis, your hair looks ridiculous!" I laughed at him. His hair was still wavy and clung to his forehead. It was also a great distraction to not looking at his body.

"Oh shut it! Your shirt looks ridiculous!"

"What? I thought you liked The xx…" I drifted off looking down to my soaked T-shirt.

"No… It's just…"

"Aw! Travis you ruin all the fun!" Connor came walking with a bucket filled with balloons.

"You suck, Connor." I said.

"No, that's the girl's job."

I rolled my eyes and said, "How about round two of…"

"My video game?" he asked hopefully.

I tried my best to hide my smirk and said, "You're on."

…

I ended up winning. Those cheats sure did come in handy.

"No way!" he yelled. "You cheated!" I just shook my head and made a tsk-tsk noise.

"Hey, Kather, your dad's here, " Travis said at the doorway.

"Yeah, one sec," I sad holding up a finger and finishing off the last wave of Nazis.

I turned around to see Travis with a towel wrapped around his torso. I blushed.

"Something wrong?" he asked with a sly smile. He knew exactly what was wrong.

"Nothing," I lied. "Well, see you tomorrow, babe," I said while giving a light peck to his cheek.

"Babe?" he asked from outside his door.

I turned around before I went down the stairs and said, "Yeah. It's your pet name. Or would you prefer Honey Pumpkin Mc—"

"Okay. Okay. I get it. See ya, babe."

"Later," I said from the bottom of the staircase.

**So... a shorter chapter, but I thought it would be better to update now. The next chapter will take a while, but that's because I have no clue on how to write it. Thanks for the favs, follows, and reviews!**

**Guest: I know. :3 Tratie is so cute and amazing!**

**45: I have no clue as to what you meant by "Gh"**

**Pink lady of love: Thank you!**

**Lizzy Dan: Thank you for that incredibly long and thoughtful review! I probably won't have Grover appear, but I am making a school dance ;) Yes, this an AU story. No powers. **


	11. An Adventure, a Detour, and a Shovel

**Disclaimer: I own no characters except the British girl from the party. **

The next two weeks flew by like a breeze. Travis and I seemed inseparable. We were constantly together and he even gave up pranking for a while. I never questioned him further on his bruisings. I had a hunch that a certain someone might have seen him in town, and out of anger, decided to meet his fist with Travis's face.

My suspicions were proven right when I noticed Jake's bruised fist the next day at school. I made a big fuss on going to give Jake a piece of my mind, but I let it go when Travis convinced me that Jake's pride was at stake, and that he would have done the same thing, but in a different form. Pranking I told him to which he smiled proudly back at me.

…

"Kather, do you want to go on an adventure?" Travis asked me with a sly look.

"What do you mean?"

"I mean," he said dragging out the word with a slight drawl, "That Connor and I are going into town and would like you to tag along."

"Okay," I said shrugging my shoulders. I usually went with Stolls on their rendezvous, so I didn't give it much thought.

"Nice." He said while putting a hand to the small of my back and guiding me towards his truck. Even though Travis was a fan of PDA, touches like this still made me shiver.

"Hey, Katie," Connor said cheerfully.

"Connor," I acknowledged.

"So we are just going to make a quick stop at the hardware store, then head out to grab a bite to eat."

"Sounds good. As long as you pay," I said with a small smile.

"But, of course. Anything for my girl."

I laughed and Connor rolled his eyes at our banter. He was used to it by now, but never stopped complaining about us making 'goo-goo eyes' at each other. I told him to deal with it, and that he had been making 'goo-goo eyes' at that blonde girl from Will's party a few weeks ago. 'Whipped' is the word Travis used to describe Connor when I asked him what was up between those two.

I noticed Travis made a few wrong turns so I said, "Umm… Travis, I don't think this's the right way to the store."

"I know."

"So, where are you going?"

"Small detour," he responded while reaching over and grabbing my hand and pulling it to the gear. He kept his hand over mine the rest of the drive.

Travis was my second boyfriend, and he was much different compared to Jake. I hated myself for comparing the two, but I was only human. Travis wasn't afraid to kiss and touch me in public, while Jake usually would only give me a hug at most during school hours.

Although I hated to admit it, Travis made the decisions and took the initiative in our relationship. I was perfectly fine, however, to follow him wherever he led me. I may have depended on Travis too much, but I enjoyed having an anchor. Without him I would be a lonely wanderer.

"We're here," Travis said while pulling me from my thoughts. I got out and noticed we were at a small house near the outskirts of town. It was cute, and had a blue porch. I noticed a rusty mailbox standing on the side of the road. It looked kind of lonely.

"Where is here exactly?" I asked.

"You'll see."

Connor walked inside and Travis followed suit. I lingered in the doorway for a while, racking my brain in what the place used to be.

"It was the old mail place," Connor told me as he sat on an old and torn up couch. It looked comfy…

"Come on. Follow me," Travis said while grabbing my hand and leading me to another room.

We ended up in a room with all of the furniture enclosed in white sheets. I noticed an old, brown photograph of a mailman. The date was smudged out by rust.

"How old is this place?"

"Too old," he said.

I ran my fingers along the dusty window and something shiny caught my eye. I walked over and saw that it was a pin. It was silver with a mailbox carved within it.

"Pretty…" I whispered while running my fingers along it and weighing it in my palm. I showed it to Travis and he started making it 'run' along his knuckles repeatedly like that trick magicians do.

"Show off," I mumbled and his crisp and loud laugh sounded out.

"Only to you," he said teasingly. I stuck my tongue out at him, childly.

Travis was a cheesy motherfucker when he wanted to be. Granted, he was mostly kidding, but some times his sincerity caught me off guard. I always had thought of Travis as a shiftless playboy, but I guess my assumptions were wrong.

"Okay, so I have something I wanted to show you," Travis said to me.

"Okay, show me."

"J-just close your eyes. And no peeking," he added. I heard the creaking of the floorboards as he walked away.

A few moments later Travis returned and whispered in my ear, "Okay. Open your eyes."

They fluttered open and I saw that Travis was holding a shovel wrapped in a red bow.

I wore a confused expression for awhile, but then I said with fake enthusiasm, "A shovel! Thanks… Travis, how…thoughtful of you."

He rolled his eyes then said, "Kather, I'm not just giving you a shovel. You've got to give me more credit than that."

"Well, what else am I getting?"

"Follow me and you will see."

We went to the backyard of the old mail house and I saw an overgrown and dead lawn. Bushes and the grass were as brown as that old photograph inside.

"I thought since you like to uhh…"

"Garden…" I helped him out.

"Yeah, garden, then you would like to patch up the yard. I know it's a lot of work, but—I was hoping you could plant some flowers and stuff. Connor and I spend a lot of our time here, and he was upset that I was going to bring you to our man cave." I laughed.

"So I told him you would help us patch up the place, and the best place I could think of o start at was the yard. I'll help you if you want," he added, "Oh, you don't have to do this. I just—"

I cut him off with a bone crushing hug.

"Thank you," I whispered.

"You're welcome," he said while wrapping his arms around me. I felt safe in his embrace and the only thing keeping me rooted to the ground and not physically floating on cloud 9 was Travis. He was my rock, and everyone needed a rock every now and then.

**50 reviews! That's crazy! **

**Guest c3: I know right! The movie was such a let down! I can totally relate to you getting in trouble for laughing when reading that scene!**

**Guest c5: Oh no D: I hope it wasn't too scary!**

**Guest c11: TRAITE CONQUERS ALL!**

**Guest c10: I'm really not that amazing of an author, but thank you XD**


	12. Soil, Pictures, and Pity

**Disclaimer: again, I don't own PJO. **

I continued to visit the old mail place with the Stolls. Travis explained to me on how they had come across it and that it was their hangout throughout high school. The garden started looking in better shape after just a few days.

"Travis," I said, "Will you put some soil right here for me."

He started patting some dirt into the hole I dug.

"What," I grabbed his arm to stop him from continuing, "do you think you are doing?"

"Putting some soil in the ground…"

"Travis, dirt is not soil."

"Oh, well… what is soil?" How could a seventeen year old boy not know what soil was?

"What is soil?" I mocked, "Soil is filled with nutrients and it helps plants grow."

"Oh! You mean the dirt with the white dots! I got it." I rolled my eyes at his stupidity.

We continued planting and weed whacking for a good hour until the sun was too much to bear. I rolled up my sleeves, exposing my farmers tan.

"Nice tan, Kather," Travis commented. I glared up at him. I was always jealous of Travis's ability to stay tan all year long. He never burned, and his golden-brown skin would make you think that he lived in California.

"Hey, Travis, will you help me move this couch!" Connor shouted from inside.

"Why do you need to move it!"

"Because the glare from the window makes it hard to see the TV screen!"

We both rolled our eyes at Connor.

…

Things continued on for a while. Being with Travis was smooth sailing, but everyone is bound to hit a rough patch at sea every once in a while.

I was at my house, sitting at my desk when my phone started going off. It was a Friday night to be exact.

It was a text from Annabeth.

_Hey, are you okay?_

_Yeah why wouldn't I be?_

_Oh. You haven't seen the pics yet ._

_What pictures?_

_I'll send you a link. _

I clicked the link to Instagram and the photo on my screen shocked me. It was of Travis and another girl. She was clinging to him and you could see her lipstick stains all over his face and neck. Travis was wearing a shit-eating grin, a red solo cup in his hand.

I looked down at the caption and saw that it read: _Crazy party! Had fun with this beast! xoxo_

Not only did I gag at the caption, but I also saw that I didn't know this girl. I clicked on her profile and started scrolling through her posts. Almost all of them were selfies. I couldn't help but feel inferior to her beauty. Her makeup was perfect and not one blemish was in sight. She had platinum blonde hair to complete her model-esque look.

I kept looking at the pictures from the party. Both of them were of Travis and her. The other picture you could see Travis smiling and leaning over to whisper something in her ear, maybe even nibbling it. I kept staring at the photos in horror, my phone continuously receiving messages from Annabeth, when a few traitor drops of tears landed on my screen. I furiously wiped my eyes and made an angry face. I was angry at the world, angry at Travis, but most of all, angry at myself. Did I really think that Travis and I would last? That he would stay with someone like me when there were girls like her fawning at his feet?

I quickly replied to Annabeth with a quick okay and turned my screen off.

I cursed at myself. How could I allow myself to get so attached to him? I should have known that he would slip away one day. I should have kept my distance from the stupid trouble maker, but I didn't. That was the whole problem. I had held on to Travis, making him my anchor, when, maybe, just maybe, I had held on too tight.

…

I refused to look at my phone for the rest of the night. I couldn't even if I tried because my tears were blurring my vision. I tried to hold it together, to keep myself from falling apart, but my breaths came out choppy and my entire body was shaking with grief. My tears ran down my cheeks and I kept tasting salt. I couldn't believe I was crying over a boy. A stupid boy.

I laid in a fetal position, crying and crying and crying until I couldn't cry anymore. My tears were all dried up, wasted on grieving over Travis cheating on me. I refused to speak to him, to speak to anyone. I didn't want to feel needy. I didn't want to be seen as helpless, but maybe I had always been seen as helpless and naive.

My troubling thoughts continued to rack my brain, my mind feeling jumbled up in knots until I finally fell asleep.

…

I spent the next two days moping around in my room. My dad came into my room, a worried expression on his face and he asked if I was alright. I just groaned and fell back into my bed. How could I say I was okay when I wasn't.

My phone was blowing up with messages and notifications the entire weekend. Travis continued to text me and call me.

_Katie?_

_Are you there?_

_I was drunk I'm sorry_

_I'm so so sorry. _

_I'm sorry Katie. _

I noticed how he wrote Katie, not Kather, not Gardner, not Katie-Kat, and not anything else, just Katie. He left me numerous voicemails saying how sorry he was and how much of a mistake it was, but I refused to call him back. No amount of 'sorries' could make me forgive him.

I decided to brush the cheating under the rug and ignore it for awhile. I knew shit would hit the fan on Monday, but in the moment, I didn't care.

…

Monday came along too quickly, and I was in no way prepared for seeing Travis. To see the guilty look on his face, to see the looks of pity from the whole student body. It was numbing and frightening to know that every single student at your high school knew about your boyfriend cheating on you.

It seemed to be something that every person in high school had in common. They may like different things and wear different things, but wether they wanted to or not, they all knew everything about everyone. Gossip was the only thing that brought students together and sadly, I was the one who they were gossiping about. I felt like such an outcast.

…

I hadn't seen Travis the whole day. I didn't even spot his mop of wavy brown hair towering over everyone else in the hallway. I was relieved and sad at the same time. Relieved that I he hadn't confronted me, but sad that this ignoring would keep going on.

I was putting my things in my locker at a leisurely pace. Everyone else had long been gone by now. I slammed my locker shut and walked out the doors into the parking lot. My breath came out in a fog and I pulled my hoodie closer to my body. The temperatures had plummeted within days, winter was coming. I hustled down the front steps and my breath got caught in my throat from who was standing there, waiting for me.

"Travis," I breathed out once my state of shock passed away.

**Hey, guys! I hope this update is sufficient enough! (even though I left a little cliffy :p) I know these last chapter have been shorter, but the next one will be really long I promise! As to the old mail place I threw in last chapter, It will play a key role in the story, and it is related to how in the book Hermes is the God of messengers. lol. Again, thank you so much for every follow, review, and favorite! Please review! **


	13. 9 Crimes, Grease, and Operation Banshee

**Disclaimer: I'mmmm baaacckkk and don't own pjo. explanation of absence at the bottom. **

"Katie," he said, "I just—just needed to talk to you."

"To what Travis?" I asked, "To tell me it was all a mistake? To tell me you were drunk?" I was angry at seeing his face. Angry that he showed up here.

He seemed to be at a fork in the road for a second then he tentatively answered, "…Yes?" It came out more like a question than an answer.

"Then, please Travis, tell me."

"Look, Katie, I just wanted to say that I was drunk and I did kiss her—" I scoffed at that. "And, that I regret it. A lot. It was wrong. You know I care about you. I would never do that on purpose."

"On purpose! Oh my! Then what would you call getting and giving a hickey on purpose? Intentional making out?"

He shook his hands ferociously at me then closed his eyes and shook his head "N-no. That came out wrong. Of course it was on purpose. Wait. I mean—"

"Just stop, Travis, you're making a fool of yourself, and a fool out of me. Is that why you kissed me that night. Because you were drunk?" It was a dig, I knew that, but I couldn't help the nagging voice in the back of my head saying it was all a lie.

"No," he said with his voice sounding deeper and stronger. His eyes didn't leave mine as he continued, "It wasn't like that, and you know it."

"Do I? Do I really, Travis?" I asked tears beginning to sting my eyes. "Because, right now, it seems that this was all a game to you. Just another prank."

"No! Gods, Katie, why can't you see that I care about you!" He yelled out. I deepened my scowl at him, my mind reeling with things to say.

"Travis," I started, "Why can't you just grow up!" I screamed back. His face reddened at my words and it only motivated me to keep going. "You are always acting like a little child, and—"

Travis cut me off as he took two long strides towards me and brought his lips down to mine, cupping my cheeks with his hands. For a moment, I stood still, relishing in the new feeling. He'd never kissed me like this before. The kisses we shared had been tentative and slow, letting me move at my own pace. Travis was kissing me hard and quickly, completely taking over. After a few seconds, I awoke from my numb state and pushed him back with all my might. I then gave him a slap for good measure.

"Travis! Stop just stop!"

"Stop what? I can't tell you with words, and I need you to know how I feel!"

"What did you think? That I would melt into your arms and forgive you!"

"Well… yeah."

"I can't believe you." I pushed past him and started making my way to the bus stop before Travis grabbed my arm.

"Please," he said, "Please."

"Just let go, Travis. Let go."

…

I was one of the only people on the bus. The sun was beginning to set so I sighed and brought out my headphones to start listening to music. Coincidentally, "9 Crimes" began to play. I immediately pressed the skip button, but I was out of skips. Of course.

"Fucking Hell!" I hissed out while tossing my ear buds back into my bag, and smashing my hand to my phone's screen to get it to pause.

The bus lurked to a stop and I quickly got off, making sure to not look over towards a certain someone's driveway. I closed the door with a bang and leaned against it with a sigh.

"Hey, honey! Can you come here for a quick sec!" My dad yelled from the back of the house.

"Yeah. Sure dad," I said after regaining the breath I didn't know I had lost.

He was in the garage laying beneath his vintage car.

"Hey, dad. What's up?"

"Can you hand me the wrench?"

I walked over to his shelf of tools in search of a wrench. Once I handed it over to him, I wiped my greasy hands on my baseball tee. He continued to work on the car for a few minutes then rolled out and sat up. I was absentmindedly playing with a bolt, feeling it slip through my fingers and roll across my palm. I tried to make it 'walk' like Travis had back at the mail house, but I didn't succeed.

"Katie, I know that it's tough without your mom around with things like these, but—"

"Wait. What do you mean?"

"I mean, that your mom is better at talking about…erm… boy troubles." My eyes went wide and I dropped the bolt.

"Just hear me out," he said.

"Katie, I don't know what happened with you and Travis, but I do know that this past month or so is the happiest I've seen you." I made a move to cut him off, but he raised his hand and continued, "What I'm trying to say is… just try to give the boy another chance. He came over earlier asking where you were, and he looked like the world was ending. Now, I've heard that he's a trouble maker, but he seems like a nice boy to me. And he makes you happy, that's all that matters. I'm not saying you have to forgive him, but think about it."

"Thanks, dad," I cooed while giving him a hug. The smell of rust and grease waving through my nostrils.

…

I had been laying in my bed the rest of the night. It was too much of an effort to get up and do homework. I doubted I could even do one math problem without my mind exploding. I was just about to doze off when something hit my window. I ignored it and closed my eyes again.

'Ping' again. 'Ping' again.

"Okay okay, Jesus, someone has no patience," I muttered as I slowly made my way over to the windowsill. Still in my pajamas might I add. I opened my window and peered outside, my eyes adjusting to the lighting.

"Hello?" I called out.

"Hey, Katie," Connor said nonchalantly as he jumped inside my room and summersaulted onto the ground. I let out a screech and tripped over one of my shoes, effectively landing on my bum.

"Jesus, Connor!"

"Calm down, Katie. It's just me."

"Yeah at…" I drifted of while checking the time, "Twelve thirty in the morning!"

"I've always said night. I mean does it look like morning to you?"

"What?" I asked confused. "Never mind, just tell me what you are doing wearing all black clothes, and… Is that eyeliner?" I asked looking at his painted cheeks.

"Travis said it was warpaint…" he mumbled out.

The mention of his name made me snap my head up to be eye level with him and give him a skeptical look.

"What's he to do with this?"

"I've said too much already," he aid waving me off and pulling out a walkie talkie off his belt and speaking into it, "Operation Banshee is a-go."

"What?"

"No time," he said, "We gotta go. Tr—I mean, Thor, is growing impatient."

"Thor? Connor you are making no sense!" I yelled as he was pushing me onto the roof. I barely had enough time to grab a pair of my converse.

"I'll explain later. Now hurry up!"

"Okay, okay." He held my arm and helped lower me to the edge of the roof. He then jumped off and landed gracefully.

"Katie! Come on! We gotta go!"

"Are you crazy! I'll brake my ankle!"

"I'll catch you! Now hurry up! Just think of it as a trust fall!"

"Oh Gods," I said as I leapt off the edge and landed on Connor, pushing him to the ground.

"Ow," he groaned.

"Sorry," I whispered as I got off of him and gave a hand to help him get up.

"You know you're a lot heavier than you look."

"Shut up," I spat, "Now tell me, where are we going?"

…

"Here, put this on," Connor said from the passenger seat, handing me some eyeliner.

"You're kidding right?" I asked.

"No." I rolled my eyes but hastily put two thick lines below my eyes. When they weren't looking, I applied some to my eyes, trying to give it wings.

"Badass," Connor said with a smirk, giving me a once over. I self consciously looked down to my attire. I was wearing a grey razorback tank top and some old pajama bottoms that were two sizes too big and had a red chili pepper pattern.

"Shut up," I lamely replied, my cheeks heating up even though I had goosebumps on my arms. The temperature had dropped drastically, and my clothing was not exactly the perfect choice for a night raid.

"Connor, give her my jacket, it's by your feet," Travis said right before taking a sharp left turn. Connor slammed into the side of the door from the momentum and gave Travis a glare before grabbing the black jacket and handing it over to me.

It had brown foot prints on it. I gave Connor a look.

"Thanks," I said to them while trying to brush off the shoe marks.

I don't know why I agreed to go on some night Black Ops raid with the Stolls. Especially since my state with the older brother. It might have been because I was too lazy to walk back up to my room, or maybe it was the look in Travis's eyes as Connor and I made our way over to the pick up. Definitely the former. I was careful to not show any signs of emotion towards Travis.

"So…" I said, already feeling the warmth of the jacket. It smelled just like him and was huge on me, "What are we doing on this covert operation?"

"Sorry, Katie, It's a secret," Connor said.

I rolled my eyes and huffed, "Whatever, Stoll."

…

We rolled to a stop at the local water park. The giant parking lot was empty and all of the lights were off. It looked like a ghost town, but it was almost one'o'clock and Autumn.

"What are we doing here?" I questioned them as they got out and made their way over to the bed of the truck.

"Stop numero uno," Connor said while handing me a can of red spray paint that he retrieved from a black nike bag.

**So... where to begin... I guess I'll start with the fact that school is almost over so teachers are handing out last minute projects and plenty of tests. I have finals coming up as well. I am also starting to go back into a sport that I had taken a few months off of and that is time consuming as well. And, just so you guys know, this story is in no means my priority. It is probably my last priority. I enjoy writing and it makes me happy that you enjoy this story, but I'm only going to update when I have time. I also have had writer's block this past week. It's gone now, but that was a bad stump of looking at a blank paper on my screen while the cursor blinked back at me. Guys the last chapter had over 20 reviews. Most of them telling me to update . tsk. tsk. .-. I hope you guys liked the chapter! It was so fun to write and the next one with be more eventful! Please review your thoughts on the plot, characters, etc. Don't be afraid to give your honest opinion! I can handle it! I'm an athlete and artist so I live and breathe criticism. (ps it only makes me better at what I do)**


	14. Grafitti, Turn Ons, and Renegades

**I only own the story **

I shook up the can of spray paint and heard the satisfying sound of the little ball inside.

"Refill," I called out to the two brothers. I expertly caught the fresh can of red paint and continued on with my 'masterpiece.' None of us had an artistic bone on our body, but it was fun and exhilarating all the same.

At first, I was tentative with destroying property, but when I saw that we were just going to be painting over an already destroyed wall, I thought to hell with it. Sneaking inside the park was no problem, and there were no guards to worry about. No one would see our artwork until summer.

I could hear the two boys muttering to each other a few feet away from me. My name was mentioned on more than one occasion. I felt a presence next to me and turned around.

"Kather," Travis whispered with a smirk on his face. I cocked my brow at him, wondering what on earth he was doing. He knew very well that I didn't want to be around him. When he didn't say anything for awhile, I went back to spraying red paint on the wall.

"You know…" he dragged on, "This is quite the turn on."

"Excuse me?" I reeled.

"You being rebellious, I mean," he coughed out.

"Me spraying paint on the wall is turning you on?" I asked incredulously.

"Well, yeah. Kather, those pajamas are extra sexy by the way. Where'd you get them? Victoria's Secret?"

I huffed out and rolled my eyes at him. He was just joking, and I was in no way going to take the bait.

We continued working on the wall, spraying to our hearts' desires. Once we all agreed that it was finished we took a step back and admired our hard work. I wiped my hand across my forehead and Connor started snickering at me.

"What?"

"Nice forehead, Katie," he teased. I groaned and tried to rub the paint off my forehead for a good minute.

"Is it gone?" I asked.

"Nuh-uh. You got a little smudge right there," he pointed to the left side of my temple. I rubbed at the spot and asked again.

"Nope. There's still a little bit over here." I scraped at that spot and asked if it was gone.

"No, Katie, It's right—"

"Oh! Stop it you'd ya?" I asked, finally understanding that he was messing with me.

"Connor, quit making fun of my girlfriend," Travis said from his spot by the wall. He wasn't facing us and was currently spraying the first letters of our names on the wall.

"Down boy," Connor said with a sly smile.

Before I could interrupt and say we weren't dating, Travis announced, "Let's go."

…

We made our way to the truck and I checked my reflection in the mirror to see if the paint was still on my forehead. I nodded in approval to my reflection and hopped in the back seat, right after Travis honked and scared me to death, making me jump up and screech. The boys were still laughing when we were well away from the water park.

"Okay, so, we're stopping at the gas station right?" Travis asked Connor as he took a right turn without even bothering to check for cars. I would have reprimanded him if it wasn't two in the morning.

"Yes, sir," Connor replied.

Travis just rolled his eyes at his brother.

…

"Connor, you okay waiting in here?" Travis asked.

"Sure, as long as you bring me back some Takis," Connor said with an angelic smile.

"Ya, ya," Travis waved him off.

"And don't do anything I wouldn't do!" Connor shouted out for good measure. I blushed.

"Okay, Kather, this stop has to be quick. We don't have much time. I need you to grab all of these things," he said while ripping a list of items in half.

"Okay," I said, "But, wait, what is… iced.. toe… Oh! iced tea!" I said to no one particular since Travis had walked off.

I started speeding down the aisles, looking for everything on my list. The only thing I was missing was dog biscuits. Dog biscuits… Aha!

I was holding all the items in my hands, carefully walking to the cash register. I let them drop onto the counter and flashed the cashier a smile.

"Will that be all miss?" he asked, looking me up and down. He stopped for a second after noticing my 'warpaint', but continued on with his icy gaze traveling down my body. I brought Travis's hoodie closer to my body, trying to cover myself up. I was feeling uncomfortable and it made me anxious for when Travis would arrive.

"No… a friend should be here any second," I said while looking around for Travis.

"Well, in the mean time… How about you tell me your name? A pretty little thing like you shouldn't be all alone at this time of the day."

I gritted my teeth and answered, "No thanks. My _friend _will be here any second."

"Sorry I took so long, Kates, I just—" he stopped while taking a look at the cashier, "Is this guy giving you any trouble?"

"Is this your friend?" the cashier asked.

"No, I'm fine," I assured Travis. He ignored me and continued walking up to the counter. He placed a 6-pack of Bud Light last, then put a protective arm around my shoulder.

"I'm her _boyfriend, _by the way," Travis answered the cashier's earlier question.

"Calm down, we were just having a little fun is all."

"Just scan the shit and we'll be on our way," Travis told him.

"I'm afraid I'm going to need to see some I.D., boy," the cashier told Travis with a sneer.

"Not a problem," Travis said while pulling out a fake I. his wallet.

"Uh Mr. Walker, right?"

"Yes?" Travis answered not missing a beat.

"Nothing," The cashier said.

After paying for everything, I grabbed two bags and starting heading out the door.

"See you around miss!" the cashier called out to which Travis flipped him off.

"Asshole," Travis spat once we were outside.

"Thank you," I whispered to him. I looked up at him and saw that he was giving me an all-knowing look. He closed his eyes, briefly, and nodded his head before continuing on to the truck.

"Connor, wake up! I got ur stupid Takis."

Connor groggily awoke and unlocked the doors for us. Travis sent me one last look in the mirror, and then sped off.

…

I wrung my red stained hands together as Connor kept changing the radio station. He finally settled on one playing "Renegades"_. _He started drumming his fingers along the door and was humming the lyrics to himself.

_Run away-ay with me. Lost souls in revelry. Running wild and running free. Two kids, you and me. _

Travis followed suit, shouting out the lyrics to the chorus for the world to hear. Connor was beckoning me to sing along but I shook my head, the last thing I needed was them making fun of my awful singing.

_All hail the underdogs. All hail the new kids. All hail the outlaws. Spielbergs and Kubricks. _

I was on the verge of singing, I just needed one little shove in the right direction.

_It's our time to make a move. It's our time to make amends. It's our time to break the rules. Let's begin. _

I screamed and shouted out the words. Not caring if I sounded off-key, or whatever you call it. We were all belting out the words, as if we had no care in the world. Tomorrow, I would face the music and all of my problems would return, but for now, at least in this moment, I would be okay. Living like a renegade with my two crazy neighbors.

**The End. **

**Guys, it's been fun writing for you! This story has developed so far and-lol jk. it's not over! You guys are still stuck with me!**

**Thanks for all the support! I really appreciate it! But. I was seriously thinking about how that would go as the ending,a lot of problems wouldn't be resolved, but it was kind of a badass way to go. **

**Guest c13: I hope they get back together too! They are just an awesome ship!**

**Guest c13: it really isn't that amazing, and there are plenty of things i wish I could erase from everyone's memory, but I'm glad you like it!**


	15. A Rat, Bud Light, and Declarations

**Disclaimer:Don't own the Stolls or Katie, or pjo. **

I now knew why Travis needed dog treats.

We were currently in Drew's backyard. She was a girl in our class, and she also happened to own a rat. I guess it looked like a dog if you stared hard enough and tilted your head.

Drew was one the most popular girls in school, and broke a new heart each week. She also had been pinning for Travis this year, and up until recent events, I stood in the way of that.

Travis made Connor check if her dog was outside first. Connor stupidly _hopped_ over the fence instead of just looking. Unfortunately, his jeans were the victims of her dogs wrath. For such a tiny dog, it sure was feisty.

"Quick, Katie, treat me!" Travis whisper-yelled to me while snapping his fingers. I grabbed a few and handed them over to him, and he automatically tossed them over the fence. The dog moved its attention from Connor, and gave us enough time to haul him back over the fence.

"Connor, you idiot!" I yelled.

Travis started, "Okay, so, were gonna keep throwing the treats over by the other side of the yard then run over to the tree and start climbing it, then—" Travis was cut off by me.

"Woah, woah, woah. why would we climb the tree? Are we trying to break in?" I questioned Travis.

"Well yeah… I mean why else would we be at her house in the middle of the night," he deadpanned.

"Yeah, we're here to avenge you," Connor piped in.

"Excuse me?"

"We heard her saying shit about you, all because of _one _idiot," Connor explained hinting over to Travis," We aren't gonna let her get away with that, Katie. You've got to bring the fucking rain down on her."

I didn't really know what to say to that. I had heard plenty of girls gossiping about my relationship with Travis in the bathroom. I didn't realize Connor or Travis had heard them.

"Still, we can't—"

"No buts, Kather. We're gonna set this bitch straight. Stoll style," Travis said, "Now come on, get that butt up and over that fence. Be sure to throw a few treats towards the other side of the yard," he finished lightly pulling my shoulders towards the wooden fence.

"Fine, but you guys better follow me or else I'll prevent you both from ever having children," Connor laughed, "I'm serious." He shut up after that.

Hesitantly, I climbed over the fence, well aware of Travis staring at my ass. Once I peaked my head over the fence, the dog began barking at me. I screamed because it had jumped on the fence.

"Shut it up!" Connor yelled.

"Treats, Travis! Treats!" I commanded.

He ended up throwing the whole bag over and onto Drew's lawn.

"Go, go, go!" He yelled out, pushing me over the fence, Connor and him hot on my heels. I got up and ran as fast as I could towards that tree. Like my life depended on it.

Connor started climbing without so much as a second glance. Travis noticed I was having problems getting a hold onto the tree and helped pull me up. The rat noticed we had moved from our last position, and ran over to the tree, yapping at us. I panicked and looked through their nike bag for something, anything, and threw down Connor's takis.

"Katie! How could you!" he yelled out, clearly heartbroken.

"I did what was needed to be done. It was either your takis or our heads."

"Come one," Travis said, holding my hand and pulling me farther up the tree. I knew I swore to stay away from him tonight, but I was scared of falling out of the tree.

We finally reached a balcony and with that the safety of stable ground. We all crouched low and Travis explained to me plan: _Snitches Wind up in Ditches_.

"Are you crazy! I can't spray paint her room!"

"Well you spray painted that wall in the park so I thought this wouldn't be any different," Travis said.

"If she wakes up, she'll kill me!"

"I promise you, Kather, she will not wake up."

We stared at each other for awhile until I gave in. "Fine," I said, "Give me the spray paint."

"Someone's demanding," Connor noted, but he tossed me a fresh can anyways.

"I swear, Travis, if she catches me, I will have your head,"

"Yeah, we all know, Katie," Connor said.

With one last glare directed at the two almost identical brothers, I drew in a breath and went inside Drew's room through the opened window.

"I'm a badass bitch. A boss-ass bitch who doesn't take shit from no one," I muttered to myself. It was a pep talk I had received from Connor in the truck before they began breaking into Drew's property. I looked up from her crawling on the floor and was greeted by a snoring Drew.

She wore a pink mask over her eyes. Lovely.

I stood up and looked around the room, trying to find an object to spray on. My eyes made contact with Drew's huge mirror. The kind with lightbulbs on top. I tip-toed over and lightly shook up the can.

Drew muttered in her sleep and rolled over, causing me to halt and hold my breath. Making sure she was still asleep, I sprayed over the mirror, spelling out words. Words I knew would hit Drew where I wanted to. Words I knew I would regret later on in life.

I then sprayed over all of Drew's makeup and other beauty supplies. I heard someone coming through the window. Travis.

"We forgot to give you this," he whispered to me, handing over a can of iced-tea. I was supposed to pour it on the bed around Drew, so she would feel sticky in the morning. I grabbed it, thankful that he had opened it up outside already, and walked over to Drew's bed.

I poured the contents of the can out quickly, wanting to get it over with already. Once every last drop was now soaking Drew's bed, I walked back towards the window, ready to leave this place.

When the all were ready to jump out of the tree, then remembered we forgot about the dog. It was still growling at us, mainly Connor who was giving it the bird and taunting it.

"Let's just run for it," I suggested.

"Okay, on three," Travis continued, "One, t—"

"Three!" Connor yelled hopping off the tree and taking off for the fence. Travis and I followed suit, chasing the traitor down.

We made it back to the pick-up safely. Once inside the safety of the truck we all started laughing uncontrollably.

Travis pulled the truck away from the cul-de-sac and said, "I think this calls for a celebration."

"No, no. No more crazy activities. Please," I begged.

"Well, we can do other activities if you'd like," Travis hinted waggling his eyebrows, and Connor laughed. I gave him a half glare for that. My adrenaline was still pumping, rushing through my whole body. Nothing could ruin this feeling.

"But, not bad for your first prank, Kather, not bad at all, and there won't be any more _crazy activities_, I can assure you," Travis said.

"Okay, whatever," I said.

…

We ended up at the old mail house. Travis and Connor hopped out. Travis opened the door for me, completely unnecessary in my opinion. Presumably, kissing up. Connor walked to the bed of the pick up, grabbing some of the stuff we bought. Travis put a hand on my shoulders and steered me towards the front door.

"Kather, this day will go down in history as the day Kather became a badass and had the best night of her life," he told me.

"I've always been badass, and this isn't the best night of my life, close though," I said, recalling the night Travis kissed me. The mere thought pulling at my heartstrings.

"It was still a great night though," I said truthfully.

"And it will only get better," he told me with a wink.

"Got the beer," Connor said, walking through the doorway. I lifted my eyebrows at him and Travis, finally understanding what Travis had in mind for a celebration.

"I don't drink, Travis," I said to him softly.

"That's okay, cos we do," he said opening a bottle and taking a swig.

…

We talked about ourselves and I learned more about Connor. He had downed two bottles and was already showing signs of drunkenness. Travis, on the other hand, was on the last bottle left, and seemed completely sober. Maybe a little tipsy at most.

"Kather," Travis whispered, "Kather."

"Mmm," I said, my eyes trained on a now sleeping Connor.

"Take a sip, see if you like it," he said offering me the half empty bottle. I was ready to decline, but I thought one sip wouldn't hurt. It was a bitter taste, and I scrunched up my face.

I shook my head and handed it back over to him.

"Thought so," he said quietly. He had moved significantly closer to me since we first arrived, a mere three inches from my face.

"I said I didn't drink."

"I know," he whispered, the words barely making a sound as they left his lips. His eyes were trained on mine as he set the bottle on the table.

I drew in a breath and, out of habit, cast my gaze down to his lips. He must have noticed because he started leaning in. I maybe would have kissed him if I had drank more beer. I maybe would have kissed him if things were different, but they weren't.

So instead of giving into temptation, I turned my head and said, "No, Travis. I-I can't."

"I know," he said, "I know." Except I didn't think he knew, because he wouldn't meet my eyes, and sighed out, and ended up finishing that last bottle of Bud Light.

…

"No, Travis, I'm driving," I told him snatching the keys away from his grasp. He had been acting melancholy and detached since our almost kiss, and after an hour of awkwardness, he wrapped up the celebration, saying he needed to take me home.

"Kather," he said, his voiced laced with pity, "You don't even have a license."

"And you're not sober," I said, determined to be the one behind the wheel. He may have driven me that night after the party, but I was unaware of how much he drank. He was showing late signs of being drunk right now.

"Fine," he said, a little too loudly, "Whatever." With that, he walked over to the passenger side and slammed the door shut.

I climbed in and put the key into the ignition, revving the engine. Thank God I was driving at a time where no one within a twenty mile radius was on the road. I pulled back out of the driveway, casting glances at a pissed off Travis and a sleeping Connor, before I took off down the highway.

…

I drove with few mistakes, only speeding a little bit. Pulling into the Stoll's driveway was probably the roughest part of the ride. I was going too fast and almost knocked over both our mailboxes. I killed the engine and looked over to a still seething Travis.

"What is it?" I asked.

"Nothing," he said.

"It doesn't seem like nothing."

He groaned and rubbed his hands over his eyes, "Kather, I'd rather not talk about it."

"God, Travis, I'm just trying here."

He looked over and gave me a disgusted face.

"_You're_ trying? I'm the one who set up this _whole goddammed thing_! And for what? Nothing!" He yelled out, his fist banging on the dashboard.

"Travis! What did you expect would happen?"

"I don't know, Kather!" he was beyond screaming now, "I don't know," he said, his breathing rugged.

"Uhh… guys?" a groggy Connor asked from the backseat.

"What, Connor?" we both yelled at him simultaneously.

"God, you guys are perfect for each other. A match made in hell," he said, getting out of the car and walking up to his house.

I sighed and rested my head on the steering wheel, linking my hands above my head.

"Travis… I just don't know what to think with you," I admitted.

"I love you," he said.

"What?" I asked jumping up in my seat. Not believing what he just said.

"I love you," he repeated. "Think of that."

"Travis…" I said, not really knowing how to respond. He couldn't really be saying this right now.

"No, I'm serious. I love you." he said his voice growing stronger, "I love you. I love you. I love you."

I just kept staring at him, not believing he was saying this.

"Travis… you're drunk. There's no way—"

"No!" he yelled, causing me to flinch, "I may have drank some beer, but I'm not saying this because I'm drunk. I'm not drunk. I love you. I may not know much, but I know that I love you. I'm _in_ love with you,"

My heart was beating a mile per second, ready to burst right out of my chest. My stomach was tightening and it felt hard to breathe, like I was dying. Dying of pure happiness.

"I-I…" my voiced died off. I couldn't find the right words, let alone say them.

He twisted in his seat and captured my lips, I wasn't responding, just letting him place soft kisses on my mouth. I tasted salt and realized I was crying.

Gosh, I was a wreck.

His lips left mine and he started peppering soft kisses, a fleeting touch, to each tear.

"Ssshh," he said, calming me.

He traveled across my jaw, his touch burning the skin where his lips were. His lips traced my jawline, then moved down my throat, leaving a trail of hot kisses. If I couldn't breathe before, I certainly couldn't breathe _now_.

I arched my back a bit trying to get closer. His lips moved to the crook in my neck, just above my collarbone, his tongue moving on my skin, sucking at it. I gasped and pulled his head back up to my face, cupping his cheeks.

"Love me or not, I'm _not_ letting you give me a hickey,"

He let out a husky laugh then brought his lips back to mine.

**Gosh, guys I'm so sorry for the absence! I've been busy, but I'll admit I totally forgot about it for two weeks. Then I've been looking at your guys's reviews this past week and Omgssh YOU GUYS ROCK! **

**To try and get myself back into this story, I read every chapter a couple nights ago. Regaining my love for tratie. gosh they are just so cute *.* **

**I love this chapter. especially the second half of it. 2,408 words to make up for the lack of updates and shorter chapters. I hope you guys are all still sticking with this. **

**100 reviews! I think this is now the best night of Katie's life, no? Travis you sly dog you. **


	16. Kissing Trails, Sleepovers, and Gossip

**Disclaimer: pjo isn't mine. **

I let out a blissful sigh as Travis continued to demolish me with kisses.

"I love you," he murmured, his lips not completely leaving my skin. I closed my eyes, relishing in the feeling surging through me. He loved me. He was _in_ love with me.

He brought his lips up to my nose and whispered, "I love you here." He moved to my right cheekbone, "Here." To my left, "And here." He moved down to my chin, "Here." My _ears_. He continued the declarations, moving down my neck, and my collarbones, and shoulders. Before he could go any further, I grasped his face. He changed course and went back to my lips, "And _especially_ here."

I smiled, feeling warmth throughout my body, despite my bare shoulders feeling the wrath of the cool night air. My jacket, his actually, had been discarded quickly, along with Travis's t-shirt. I pressed my hands to his chest, my fingers skimming over the contours of his muscles. He shuddered from my touch. I had never kissed a shirtless Travis, let alone touched one. Not like this. I felt his heartbeat beneath my palm, and I listened to the insistent pumping of his heart.

He moved his lips back to mine, and I moved my hands so they were wrung around his neck. Sunlight was beginning to peak through the window, bringing with it warmth. I could see Travis's face better in the small amount of light. Just enough light to outline his features. He was so handsome, and he was looking down at me like I was his entire world. It was hard to meet his gaze when he looked at me like that.

With one last peck to my lips he whispered, "As much as I want to keep making out with you, we should go."

I nodded, despite my internal pleas. I sat upright, pulling back some stray hairs behind my ear. I undeniably looked like a wreck. My hair was probably all mused up, Travis's sure was. His wavy locks had suffered the wrath of my hands. I took in his appearance, smirking. He glanced over at me with a confused expression, and I just shook my head at him, almost as if to say, 'It's nothing.' A glossy smile took over his face and he shook his head back at me.

He opened the door for me, his shirt draped over his shoulder. He locked the truck the old fashioned way so we wouldn't make much noise. I was about to walk over to my house when Travis said, "Kather, no. This way." He guided me to his front door, opening and closing it as quietly as possible. We tip-toed up the stairs, then walked into Travis's room. He closed the door after us.

I looked around the room, despite my room being five feet across from his, I had never paid much attention to it. The walls were blue, discarded clothing along the floor. I smiled once spotting an old pizza box. Some empty bottles of shaving cream and silly string along with it. The room was so _Travis._

He walked up to me and pressed his lips against mine one last time. I eagerly responded.

"Sorry, I couldn't help myself."

"Don't be sorry," I smiled up at him, biting my lip. His shirt was still off.

He must have noticed my ogling, because he said, "Oh," then picked up a random shirt from the floor. He made a move to put it on then stopped and said, "Don't look." He sounded like a child.

"Travis, I've just seen you half naked for an hour!"

"Just—close your eyes," he continued, "No peeking." I closed them, crossing my arms across my chest.

I opened them a moment later to be greeted with his back. I admired his shoulder blades as he quickly threw on the shirt. He turned around and gave me a knowing look.

"Pervert," he muttered.

I gasped and hit him on the shoulder, "_I'm_ not the one staring at my ass when I was climbing over the fence!"

"Of course you weren't. You can't look at your own ass when doing that. _I_, on the other hand, was staring at it."

I huffed out and rolled my eyes.

"It's a great ass," he admitted.

"Pervert," I muttered.

He laughed then said, "Now get out, I need my beauty sleep…Unless you were planning on staying the night…" he said waggling his eyebrows.

"No thanks."

"Awe. Too bad. I even bought some condo—"

"Can you not!"

"Hey, I'm just trying to have protected se—"

"Shut up! Shut up!" I yelled, blushing.

"Okay, Okay. I didn't really mean that anyways. We could just sleep."

"And I said no."

"No. I mean _sleep._ As in not being awake. And look, you're even in your pajamas."

"What if my dad walks in my room and sees I'm not there?" I asked, worried.

"What if he saw you weren't there earlier tonight? It wouldn't make a difference."

"Are you trying to get me to _sleep _with you? God, you're practically begging! I'll do it out of pity I guess…" I joked with him.

"Hey, a guy does what he needs to do," he said wrapping his arms around me and spinning me so he was hugging me from behind. He walked over towards his bed then flopped down on his side, bringing me down with him.

I let out a scream, not expecting to be hurdled into his bed.

"Sshh," he whispered. "God someone's loud in bed," he remarked.

I turned around so I was facing him and playfully slapped him on the shoulder. "Hey, I'm doing this on my own time, I can always leave if you're complaining."

"No, no," he said, "This is just fine." He draped his arm around me and brought his forehead to mine, closing his eyes. We laid like that for awhile. I kept my eyes wide open. We weren't covered in blankets, but I wasn't cold at all.

After bringing my knees closer to my chest, getting comfy, I realized Travis had fallen asleep. His breathing was softer and light snores could be heard. He muttered something in his sleep then pulled me closer to him, tightening his hold. I watched him sleep for a few minutes, thinking over the events of this night.

I pressed my lips to his temple, softly saying those three little words…

…

I woke up to the sun beating through my window. The only problem was, that it _wasn't _my window. I sat up straighter, rubbing my tired eyes. I looked over to a still sleeping Travis. Our legs were intertwined, and his grip on me hadn't wavered throughout the night, or early morning. Whatever.

I shook his shoulders trying to wake him. "Travis… Travis! Wake up."

"Huh?" he said, blinking his eyes. He had some dried up drool on the side of his face, and his hair was even messier than the night before. He still managed to look cute, morning breath and all.

"Travis. I've gotta go."

"Okay," he said, but he brought me closer to his body.

"Really, I've gotta go."

He groaned then rolled onto his back. He looked at me for a while and said, "I want to wake up to this everyday."

I blushed then replied, "God, that was such bull."

He shook his head smiling, "Maybe. Maybe not."

I rolled my eyes. I wasn't in the mood to be talking about our future. Let alone _us._

"Hey, Travis, did you—" Connor walked in, ceasing to a halt, when spotting me in Travis's bed.

"KATIE?" he shrieked.

"Shh!" Travis reprimanded him, "Katie, stayed the night. Chill."

"Did you use protection?" he asked with a sly smile.

"Connor! It wasn't even like that!"

He put his hands up in mock surrender, "Katie, calm down. No one's judging."

I huffed out, annoyed someone could go around spreading rumors then said, "I'm gonna go."

"Okay, bye, Kather."

"BYE KATIE!" Connor screamed out, wavering after me.

"Connor! Shut up!" Travis yelled.

…

It took me awhile to push up my window, but once I did, I ran straight towards my bed, settling in. My dad walked in a few minutes later telling to wake up for school. I faked a yawn and stretched my arms over my head.

"Sleep well, honey?"

"Yep," I said, smiling.

"Uh huh," he said, taking a seat in my chair.

"Yeah, so… can you leave so I can change?"

"Oh, yeah! Sure, honey. By the way, you've got a little smudge of evidence on your cheeks," he said, pointing at me, and motioning wiping it off.

"Oh, I was just practicing how to use eyeline—Wait evidence?"

"Katie, I may be old, but I still know when my daughter sneaks out at night," he gave me the classic 'dad look.'

I just gave him a cheeky smile in response.

"Were you with the Stolls?"

"No," I said too quickly.

"Katie, I'm not stupid. I just need to tell you the importance of safe se—"

"Ew! Dad, no. That didn't happen."

"Just remember to use protection, sweetheart. I don't—"

"Dad!," I groaned and flopped back on my bed, covering my eyes, "Can we just not talk about this right now?"

"Okay, okay." With that said, he left.

I rushed towards my bathroom and scrubbed off the eyeliner, apparently it wasn't water resistant. Good thing too, because I don't own makeup remover.

…

I didn't ride with the Stolls to school because that would only unleash the frenzy of rumors about me. Only yesterday, everyone saw us as broken up. Apparently, Travis didn't catch the memo, and once I got off the bus, he tried to pull me in for a kiss.

I pushed him back and said, "What are you doing? You can't just kiss me in from of everyone!"

"What? Is it such a crime to kiss my girlfriend?"

"_Ex_-girlfriend, Travis," I said hinting the word so passerbys would move on.

"You're confusing me. Just last night—"

"Shut up! Shut up!" I whispered towards him.

"What? Kather, if you're still worried that I'll, um, cheat on you again, don't be. I promise that—"

"Travis, we can't be together!" I yelled at him, causing him to stop talking and stare at me like a puppy who just got kicked. I knew that he took it the wrong way now. He thought I really didn't want to be with him. He didn't know I was acting.

"But, I love you. You love me. You can't just—" He was really making this difficult right now.

"Travis! You cheated on me! If you think that I love you, then you're wrong."

"You cheated on Jake and then got in a relationship with me!"

"That's different, and you know it. What are you trying to say?"

"It's not different. Kates, I thought we agreed last night that we were back together."

"What do you think I am? Some girl who hops from one guy to the next?"

"No! You're taking this the wrong way!"

"And we never agreed to get back together! We didn't even talk about that!"

"Kather! Wait up!" he said when I started walking away. I had to run for awhile and weave my way around students to get away from him. I know I shouldn't, but what he said got to me. Is that what people saw me as? A girl who jumps from guy to guy?

I walked into the bathroom and closed the stall, sitting on the toilet cover, bringing my knees to my chest.

"God, did you see that? What a train wreck!"

"She had it coming, though. She cheated on Jake you know?"

"Really?"

"Yes! God, what a whore."

I chose that moment to leave the stall and storm out into the hallway. Before the door closed shut, I heard them laughing and asking 'Was that her?' I felt so alone the rest of the day. I couldn't go up to Travis, because that would only bring up more drama. I sat in the library for lunch, reading some book.

I caught a glimpse of Percy and Annabeth. She was looking for a book to research on, and he was openly flirting with her and making dumb reviews about the books. Once Annabeth spotted me, she took a seat across from mine.

"Are you okay?" she asked.

"Not really," I admitted.

"Just ignore those girls. There just jealous," Percy said.

"I don't think so."

"Yes they are!"

"What Percy is trying to get at is, those girls wish they had Travis, so when things went downhill they took the moment to pounce."

"Exactly!" Percy yelled, and the librarian shushed him.

"Sorry!" he apologized, and received another shushing.

"So, what should I do?"

"The only thing you can do is ignore them. They're going to spread rumors no matter what."

"Thanks, Annabeth. You too, Percy."

"You're welcome," she said, getting up and leaving the library. Percy waved goodbye then ran up to put an arm around his girlfriend.

**Sorry for the wait guys, I didn't know exactly what to keep out or put in this chapter. I didn't want to rush the story's plot line forwards. Anyways, I know some of you guys have been waiting almost a month, I hope the tratie was enough to feel the void. **

**I just love how they always make out in his truck lol. **

**I am currently working on three other stories that aren't fanfiction. That is the main reason for my absence, the other one is that I was working more on my art. This is also my summer break, so I'm doing other fun stuff :) **

**Guest c10: the xx is a band(sorta) My favorite song of theirs is intro, night time, fiction, and missing. You can check them out on Spotify. :) **

**Guest c15: Thank you! You guys are pure amazingness! **

**Guest c15: They are the cutest! **


	17. Comforting, Questions, and Speaking Out

**Disclaimer: I don't own PJO**

I made it through the rest of the day, just barely scraping by. I ignored Travis in English, pretending I hadn't seen his blank and lifeless expression, and Annabeth gave me a ride home.

I sat in my room, moping. I had my curtains drawn as to not spot the Stolls by chance. He probably hated me now. I basically rejected him, right after he had opened up to me. It wasn't a whole lot, but he said how he felt, and I crushed his feelings onto the ground, in front of everyone.

I tried doing my math homework, but I couldn't focus on my work and ended up just doodling random blobs and flowers.

My hair fell down once I pulled it from its ponytail, and I felt it spread out behind my head ad I laid on my bed, grabbing at my pillow. It hurt to know people would say those kind of things to me. It hurt more than when my gut would by being hit by a dodgeball in P.E.

I heard a knock on my window and sighed.

Annoyed, I responded, "Connor, go away. I'm not in the mood to talk." Last night, he had said that should be our thing, him sneaking in to get to know his 'sister-in-law' better. I guess he was following to his word.

"It's not Connor."

I sat upwards, and started paying full attention towards the window, "What do you want?"

"I'm an idiot," came his muffled reply.

I got up, hearing my heels pop, and walked towards my window, sliding it open, "Well, that much is obvious."

He was looking at the sunset until I said that, a shadow of a smile appearing for a moment before it turned downcast, "Kates… I'm so sorry." His knees were drawn close to him as he sat on my roof, so I got out and sat on the other side of my window, mimicking his pose.

"No, I'm sorry. I should have told you—"

"Kather, stop. I'm the stupid one who keeps fucking up, not you. None of this shit would have happened to you if it weren't for me."

"Travis, it's not you're fault that people suck. Ass."

He let out a chuckle and shook his head, sounding bitter, "But it is. You deserve someone better. Not a piece of shit like me who has nothing going for him after high school."

"You're _not_ a piece of shit."

"_Listen to me_," he demanded, his eyes wide and scared, "I am, I accept that. You're going to college and are going to marry some hot-shot billionaire who's going to invent the next iwhatever,and forget all about me, and I can't bear that. I can't give you a fancy house and a nice car, and I don't deserve you, because I'm a selfish bastard, and you're so perfect, and—"

"Stop," I interjected.

"—ust so amazing and smart. You always—"

"Travis, stop!" I said more loudly, causing him to falter mid-rant, "Breathe," I coaxed.

He let out a breath, and his shoulders lowered to a more relaxed position, "But,… if not today, when?"

"Tomorrow," I said, "tell me tomorrow."

He nodded, bitting his lip, and jutting out his quivering chin. He refused to meet my eyes, and started scratching the roof with a stray stick that he picked up from the gutter.

It was killing me to see him like this, eating away my insides.

"Hey," I said, "Hey, look at me." I got up and scooted closer to him, pulling his jaw towards me. His eyes were puffy, and he sucked in a breath—you know the kind where you're holding in a cry—"Maybe, you aren't going anywhere after college, maybe, you don't deserve me, but you are _definitely _not a piece of shit. Okay?"

He nodded and looked down so I repeated, "Okay?"

"Okay," he said.

I responded, "Maybe okay will be our always." He smiled and rubbed under his eyes, his sleeve getting wet. Both of us were remembering when we were talking about _The Fault in Our Stars_ the day he took me out for ice-cream.

I pressed my lips to his, tasting salt. I pulled away only to wrap my arms around his waist and lean on him, feeling him rest his head on mine. We sat there until all his tears were dry, and then we laid back and talked out our issues, mainly what we were going to do at school.

We agreed to not talk at school, but not tell anyone anything if they asked what happened. Then I kissed his cheek and went back inside my room, hearing him calling a 'good night, Kather. I love you' to my retreating figure.

I guess I was too caught up in my own troubles and insecurities, to not not realize that Travis had them too. He may seem like a cocky guy who doesn't care, but he does, more than he lets on.

…

My classes were a drag, but were shorter today because a pep rally was being held in the gym for the homecoming dance. I rolled my eyes at all the peppy cheerleaders, but smirked once my eyes landed on Drew. She seemed extra bitchy today, but it seemed that her clique loaned her some of their makeup.

After the football team ran through a banner, and the student body had calmed down, Drew announced, "So… homecoming is next week so don't forget to grab your tickets early! These babies sell out quickly! Also, remember to—" She was cut off as [song] began blasting through the speakers. It wasn't long until Travis and Connor ran through the gym entrance wearing suits.

They then pulled the suit off, to only remain in their socks and underwear.

I couldn't help but notice they were wearing superhero underwear, the theme of homecoming. Connor had a golden cape tied around his neck, and had his arms stretched out, as if he was flying. The gym erupted in laughter, Travis's friends snapping pictures and video tapping.

Oh lord. His body was on display for the world to see. I coughed, my face going beat red when noticing his erm—area. Connor looked like a spitting image of Travis, just more scrawny. Travis didn't have many muscles, mind you, but he was lean. It was surprising seeing that he's never set foot in a gym his entire life.

Some girls were muttering 'eewws' and 'gross'es, but most were too busy cheering and hollering.

"Yeah, I'll be needing this," Travis said to Drew, his voice picking up on the microphone.

"No!" She yelled pulling back on it.

"Give it to me!"

"No! This is my spotlight!"

You could hear them arguing until Travis pulled it from her grip and she fell down.

"Well, hello!"

"Mr. Stoll! What do you think you are doing?" a teacher reprimanded him from the bleachers.

"I love you too Mrs. O'Hare," he said sending her a wink and pointing at her. She blushed crimson, and her mouth was set a-gaping.

Most students had quieted down now, but some were still chanting Travis and Connor's names.

"Quiet down now," he said lowering his arms, "As you all know, I am Travis Stoll, and this is my dear brother, Connor Stoll. Now we've got to make this quick because I know some people want to get back to the pep rally or whatever…" he said looking over towards a fuming Drew.

"My point is," he emphasized, "I didn't come here just for fun. I'm here to ask a special girl to homecoming. A girl, that I'm sure you've all heard that I've hurt recently, and I'm really sorry about that and you can get a free punch to Connor and mine's faces anytime you want. "

A series of aww's were sounded out, covering up Connor's protests. I shrank lower in my seat as a few curious gazes turned towards me.

"So… Kather? Will you go to homecoming with me?" People kept turning around in their seats when I didn't respond. "Katie Gardner?" he asked.

"Okay, this is getting pretty embarrassing now…" He said.

"As if it hadn't been this whole time," Drew and the cheerleaders muttered.

"She's right here!" Will Solace yelled out. He stood up on the bleacher and pointed towards me.

People began chanting 'say yes!'

"You're killing me here, Gardner!"

"Oh, what the hell," I said to myself. I stood up on the bleachers and screamed, "Fine! I'll go with you!"

"Really?" he asked.

I nodded.

"Good. I was getting kind of scared there for a moment," he was smiling now, a shit-eating grin.

I shook my head and made my way down to the court. I felt awkward just standing there in the bleachers. I ran the rest of the way into his arms, jumping on him and wrapping my legs around his waist. His iron-man boxers were hardly making me blush.

"I love you," I whispered, keeping my face close to his, so no one else could hear.

His blue eyes went wide, like a deer caught in headlights, until he smiled at me.

"I love you too."

People were chanting "Kiss! Kiss! Kiss!"

The teachers were distracted by Connor dancing pervertedly and wringing the cape around the teachers' waists.

"Don't just stand there!" Percy yelled, "Kiss her!"

"Well, you've gotta give the people what they want," I said.

He swept my lips in his and picked me up from the ground, spinning me around once. I pulled away after a while, standing back on my own two feet, brushing some of his hair out of his eyes. I realized that this was far too intimate for being in public, but in the moment, I didn't care.

"Ahem," Connor said, tapping me on the shoulder, "These are for you." He was holding up a bouquet of assorted flowers.

I cocked my brow up, "From you?"

"No, no. From the uglier version of me," Connor said, nodding his head towards Travis.

"From my garden?" I asked.

"Wouldn't think any less of it," he replied cheekily.

"I hate to kill the moment here, but, Travis, we've gotta get a move on."

Travis looked behind me and noticed an angry mob of teachers heading our way. He saluted me then ran off waving to the crowd, raising his arms, making them yell louder.

A teacher was blocking the exit, but Travis dodged him even though the teacher seemed to be trying hard to grab him, flailing his body towards the ground.

**If anyone's confused as to why Travis was surprised to hear that Katie loved him, remember that when she whispered it last chapter, he was asleep. (probably dreaming of Katie)**

**Sorry for the absence everyone, school started for me and it's bleh. So I take any time off to sleep, and rest. **

**Kyan: lol siriusly!? thnxxxxx**

**Guest: I'm glad you like the xx! Missing is a great song!**

**As to all the other 5,000000 reviews last chapter thanks for the support! Thank you for going back and re-reading, reviewing. following, liking, and anything else you do! **

**If not today? what? where have I heard that from? I wonder...**


	18. Dresses, Dances, and Ditching

Travis was suspended for a week. Connor as well. The principle threatened to prevent them from going to homecoming as well, but he was able to talk his way out of that one.

When he walked out from the office, fully clothed, the student body blocked him from my vision with congratulations and praise. I waited by the water fountain, where I leaned back against the wall, the barrier hiding me from everyone else in the hallway. I let out a dragged breath, closing my eyes.

"Okay, I'll see you guys later!" I heard Travis's voice speak out, and his footsteps grew nearer. I peaked around the wall, and pulled his sleeve so that he was right next to me. He yelled out until he noticed it was me pressing my body against his.

I breathed in the smell of his cologne, and pushed my face against his chest when I felt his arms wrap around me.

"Kather, you scared the shit out of me," he admitted once the warning bell rang. Most students had left the hallway to their designated classes, and Travis made a move to tug me to mine, but I wouldn't let go of him.

"No," I whispered, "A little longer, please." He didn't make any crude remarks about how I couldn't get enough of him or any jokes, he just held me upright, even when the tardy bell rang.

We talked in the hallway all throughout the last class.

…

Annabeth insisted that I go dress shopping with her, and I agreed. She was my only girl friend, and it was nice that she tried to hang out sometimes. My dad slipped a wad of bills towards me in the kitchen after school, telling me it's about time that I actually take some money out of his pocket. I kissed him on the cheek, grateful for having him as a father.

Naturally, she picked me up from my house and drove to the local mall.

"Are you guys color coordinating?" she asked as we passed by some pastry kiosk.

"Nah," I shrugged, "We didn't really talk about it."

"Anyone with eyes can see that you two weren't_ talking. _Too busy doing something else…"

"Hey! You're one to talk, Miss I-Suck-Face-With-Percy-Before-Every-Class."

"He tricks me into it," she muttered, and I just shook my head, smiling. _Liar._

"Are you guys matching?"

"Yeah, blue," she said, smiling to me.

We walked into every store, Annabeth just coming along to help me, she had already bought a dress last week. I was trying to find a cheap dress that didn't look like the numbers on its price tag.

"Do you want a bright or dull color?"

"I don't know," I sighed, pulling out my phone.

_Where r u? _

I smiled, _Travis_.

_Dress shopping. x(_

_Oh that sux_

_Yeah lol_

_What color?_

_I don't know yet. _

_Well can you like choose one already? Connor will end up buying me a tie with pineapples if you don't tell me. _

"Annabeth! What color should I tell Travis?"

She looked at me before replying, "Apricot."

_Apricot._

_What?_

_Some cream color._

_Ok. Cool, thanks babe xx._

_whatever :p_

He replied with the creepy red emoji mask thing.

I laughed, and looked away from my phone when Annabeth held out a dress for me.

It had sequins on the bust part and some around the waste, as if they were sprinkled on. It was strapless. It looked just like every other homecoming dress.

I lifted a brow at her and she just motioned for me to go try it on.

It fit. Or at least, I think it did. I checked the price tag and noticed it was half off.

"I'm getting it!" I called out, pulling my shirt back on and wrapping my scarf back around my neck. It was the only way to hide a hickey Travis gave me. That bastard.

…

Travis, Connor and his date, and me all drove to homecoming together. He looked good in his crisp black suit, and the light colored tie brought out his tan. His hair was combed neatly, (for once) and it made him look older somehow, more professional.

Once he knocked on my door that night, and my dad opened the door, his face looked like it would split in two from his smile once he saw me. I couldn't help but grin back, feeling giddy inside.

I had curled my hair, after looking at the steps on wiki-how about a thousand times, and I was proud to say that it turned out better than all right.

We posed for pictures and I swear I saw my dad crying as he was talking to Travis's mom. I'm pretty sure that in most of them I was looking up at Travis, rather than the camera.

The gym was decorated with cheesy superhero posters for couples to pose in, and we both gagged at the site.

We danced until our legs were bound to fall off, and I took off my heels, setting them on one of the clothed tables. Two hours into the dance, we were both pretty burnt out and decided to sneak out.

We ran along the deserted hallway, his arm pulling mine as I held my heels in my other hand. Our laughter rang throughout the halls, and the deep bass of the song surged through our veins. His voice kept me grounded and warmed up my chest.

He pulled out of the parking lot, not bothering to text his brother that we were ditching.

"Eh… I always knew it would be lame," I admitted.

"Oh, well, at least you can say you went."

"Where are we going?"

"You'll see," he replied, wiggling his eyebrows that had me rolling my eyes.

He took us to the mail house, and had his hand clasped in mine as he opened up the door. As soon as it swung shut, he turned around and brought his lips down to mine.

"I've been waiting all night to do that."

"Well, don't stop!" I joked, reaching up to him.

So he didn't.

**_So... long time no see. Lol I hope you guys like this chapter, and the next will have much more tratie moments if that all you care about (like me) _**

**_Review! _**

**_ . ?currency=USD&amp;gclid=CjwKEAjw1_KwBRDEz_WvncL4jGwSJAAEym0dUqLpX7fQfB39IJ4tVUJ_FKx2g0PFHxcyrOwLwmVhWxoCELPw_wcB click this link to see what Katie's dress looks like!_**


	19. Condoms, Confidence, and Worries

I laughed when Travis tried to throw me on the couch, stubbing his toe in the process.

"Ow—that fucking hurt!"

"You wanna know what else will hurt?" I asked

"What?" he asked, looking more intrigued.

I leaned in close to him, my lips barely touching his ear, "Your pride when you walk away from today, knowing Katie Gardner stole your virginity." I leaned back, smiling at his surprised and blushing face.

"No, it'll only boost my ego, knowing that I'm with the girl that everyone wishes they had."

"And, Katie?"

"Yes?" I whispered.

"I don't have a condom," he replied.

"Good thing I have you covered. Extra small."

"Shut up," he said, but he was smiling anyways as he leaned in and kissed me.

…

The lively spirit that was bursting through the halls during homecoming week had been drained by Monday. Everyone seemed sluggish, save for the few who were gossiping about the past weekend. Girls shot scrunched up looks my way, as if I was walking trash.

"I heard she left early with Travis. Seems he got what he wanted…" she trailed off and smirked at her friends as they all giggled.

"I _saw_ her leave with him! I bet he broke up with her after they did the dead.

I rolled my eyes and smiled at them. Those comments didn't get to me anymore. I had learned that being with someone as sought after as Travis made me an easy target, but he showed me that I was the only one he had eyes for, and that should be enough. He always supported me, and his word should be valued over some girl's.

"Hey, Katie!" Connor came up and wrapped in arm round my shoulder, lowering his head and looking at the ground, "Just laugh please," he pleaded.

With a confused expression I gave a chirp Ha-Ha.

"No! giggle like I'm funny! Hurry!" His expression told me he needed me to laugh or he would die.

I made an obnoxiously high pitched laugh and instantly cringed. Connor leaned in closer and gave my a thumbs up with the hand that was holding his backpack strap. If anyone was watching in the hallway it would look like we were kissing.

"What's going on?" I asked once we turned the corner.

He let out a long breath and smiled at me, "Thank you! I owe you big time!" He kissed my cheek then ruffled my hair, leaving me confused and trying to pat down any stray hairs.

I saw Travis by his locker so I decided to sneak up on him.

"Boo—" He cut me off when he shut his locker.

"Can't get enough of me I see…Hmm let me guess, you'd like to scream my name in bed again?" He winked at me and started walking so I fell into step with him.

"Please," I started, "If anyone was screaming someone's name in bed, it was you. 'Oh, gods, _Katie!—_" I paraphrased, exaggerated a moan.

He scrunched his eyebrows together and cut me off while looking around to see if anyone had heard me, "I do _not_ moan like that."

"I beg to differ," I challenged.

"You wanna test out that theory?" he asked opening a classroom door, with a sly smile on his face.

I blushed, and shook my head. "No, you have to work for it."

"Oh, _I _see! I need to be a nice boyfriend in order to get laid," he piped up, as if he was a child figuring out a math equation.

"We'll see," I said walking inside. This was my next class anyways. His eyes almost popped out of his head, and he stood still for a few seconds before rushing in. I pushed his chest back, "Nuh-uh. Classy not trashy, Travis."

"Okay, I knew that was too kinky for you anyways…" he trailed off looking away with a bored expression. I glared up at him. He smiled back, his shoulders shaking in silent laughter.

The warning bell rang so I walked to my seat in defeat as other students began to file in.

…

I swiveled around in my chair, looking at the wavy browned hair in front of me. "Hey," I poked his toe, "Do you know what was up with Connor today?" Remembering his strange behavior.

"No? Why?"

"He was acting weird this morning and asked me to laugh, as if his life depended on it… He was pretty secretive about what was going on."

"Beats me." He shrugged, then fell back on my bed, his legs dangling off the edge. It worried me that even Connor's other half didn't know. Connor was my closest friend, and his problems were my problems.

I slouched and sat in thought for a while before telling him, "Get out!"

"What-I-do?What-I-do?" he rushed out, as I started pushing him towards my window.

"I heard my dad coming up the stairs," I lied.

"So?…"

"Just leave! He'll probably just look at you and know you had sex with his daughter!"

"Okay, jeez! You weren't anything like this on homecoming night…"

"That's because it was a mistake!"

He stopped and looked at me with disbelief in his eyes.

"I'm just kidding! Gosh! I love you," I said, standing on my tip-toes to peck him on the lips. He spun around and made a dramatic exit.

"Okay, love you too, honey!" he yelled out as he climbed over his windowsill, blowing an exaggerated kiss my way.

"You're so embarrassing!" I joked covering my face with my hands. My face going red at the thought of him saying that on a daily basis as he left for work. I couldn't see myself with anyone but Travis. I hoped he felt the same way. No, I _knew_ he felt the same way.

**Short chapter, but I have writer's block and believe it or not, but this was the only time I've been able to sit at a computer and just write. I bet the beginning half was predicted by most...**

**Leave a review about this chap. and state whether you guessed right: **

**no-for you didn't think Tratie would do such a thing! D: *le shock* **

**yes-for I always knew they were a coupl'a rabbits! **

**If any of you are confused as to why Katie is flirting so much, it's because she has gained confidence in herself! She's finally able to say what she believes without worrying about others will think! I'm sure that Travis is happy about that *wink wink* ;) **


	20. Walkie-Talkies, Driving, and Lunch

**As always, I don't own characters**

"Connor, come in, Connor. We have a code red, I repeat a code red," I spoke into the walkie-talkie.

"Katie, we've been over this, it's Captain America!"

"Okay, _Captain America, _can you please tell me what happened earlier today? In my room."

"… Fine."

…

"So…?" I asked poking his toe with my foot, once he climbed inside my room and sat in my chair.

He let out a breath and stared at the floor, slightly twisting the chair. As I waited for him to answer, I grew more and more impatient.

"Do you remember the girl I went to homecoming with?"

"Yeah, the one from the party right?"

"The very one. Well, she sorta dumped me the other day, and I'm really…upset about it."

"I'm sorry," I said with the most sincerity I could muster. Poor Connor, he seemed to really like her from the few times I've seen them together, not even talking to any other girls since he met her, which is a lot coming from Travis Jr.

"What happened?"

"That's the thing, I don't even know what I did wrong!"

"Are you sure you didn't say anything that might insult her in any way?"

"Of course not! Do I look like an idiot?" Then, "Don't answer that."

"Sorry! Gosh, touchy much?"

"Ugh! Sorry, Katie, I'm just really bummed right now."

"Also what did you intend to gain from earlier today? To make her jealous?"

"Sorta. I wanted to make her notice me, to _look_ at me. But she didn't glance my way."

"How'd it go down, if you don't mind me asking?"

"It was so embarrassing. We were hanging out in my room, and all of a sudden she says, 'We need to break up.' She said if I thought that she would like me then I was even mor stupid than she thought. She made a big show of it too, it hurt."

"Well it sounds like she did it out of spite. The best thing to do right now if try to move on, maybe—"

"No."

"What?"

"I said no. I don't want to move on. I only want to date Olivia."

"Ugh, fine. Here's what we've gotta do…"

…

After finally convincing Travis, I drove the three of us to school. His hand guided me with the stick shift, but I still drove like an idiot, taking for ever to switch gears. Multiple passed us, and flipped the bird. Travis was oddly more than patient with me, even giving words of encouragement, and rubbing my hand, giving me warmth from the biting cold.

"Katie! Jesus, girl, your dad never taught you how to drive?" my so-called best friend yelled from the back seat.

"Connor, I swear to gods if you yell one more time I'm pulling over, and you can walk the rest of the way."

"I doubt you're capable of that," he grumbled.

Travis just laughed and fixed him beanie so it covered his ear better. I kept glancing at him at every stop sign, almost sighing at the sight. Some of his curls peeked from his beanie, making him look adorable.

"Ugh, gross! Katie, stop making goo-goo eyes at my brother!"

"Connor!"

"Hey, dude, the lady likes what she sees, I mean I _am _pretty hot."

I just rolled my eyes, my face burning, and tried to focus on my driving.

When we pulled into the parking lot, the warning bell rang, and I tugged at my scarf, scared that I would be really late. My first class was way on the other side of campus. Connor didn't even wait for me to fully park the car and ran up the front steps.

"Thank you," I told Travis, turning towards him.

"It's no problem Katie, I should have been giving you lessons a long time ago."

"You don't need to do that, Trav."

"But—"

He cut me off with a peck to my nose. His lips were cold, but it still made me feel a flutter down to the tips of my toes.

I gave him a toothy smile and tossed him the keys. Then we both walked inside, his armed drape over my shoulders as the tardy bell rang.

…

I was bouncing on my toes during the last few minutes of english, and Travis clearly sensed my anxious energy. It was practically rolling off of me in waves.

"Wanting to eat lunch that badly?"

"No-well—you'll see," I smiled at him and shook my head when he shot me a confused look, his eyebrows pulled closer together.

When the bell rang, I shot out of my seat, and Travis had to grab me by my elbow so I wouldn't leave him.

"Hurry up! We'll miss it!"

"Miss what?"

"Your brother—just come on!"

"Okay, Speedy Gonzales!"

We ran down the hallway, well, I ran and dragged Travis behind me. I burst through the doors and stood on my tippy toes looking for the familiar floppy brown hair.

"Do you see him?"

"No, he's not— Oh, wait, there, by the table on the right."

I turned my head and watched as Connor walked up to the table, Olivia sat there, not even noticing. I crossed my fingers that it would go well, and when I opened my eyes, I noticed the deadly silence in the cafeteria, everyone transfixed on the Stoll poking the one person who wasn't looking at him on her shoulder.

She slowly turned around and he wrung his hands before holding out the flowers to her, white roses to be exact. I picked them of course, for their meaning. _I am worthy of you. _

She hesitantly took the flowers and opened her mouth to speak then stopped when she realized that everyone was watching her every move.

Connor held out a hand gestured toward the door, she shook her head and looked towards her gaping friends. In my opinion, they looked like fish out of water, eyes bulging and mouth open, struggling for air.

She took his hand and he lead her towards the door, passing by Travis and I. I secretly gave him a high five, and Travis winked at Olivia, who in turn blushed. Connor let out a shaky breath and pushed open the door, gesturing for her to go first. He gave me a glance and I nodded him on in encouragement. 'You can do it. Just like we practiced.'

But it was all up to Connor, and honestly I doubted he would follow the script, just because he was a Stoll, they lived off of spontaneity.

Once they left, everyone went back to their usual business. Travis smiled at me and brought me in front of his chest, pushing us to the lunch line.

"Pick any of these gourmet meals, lunch's on me," he said, resting his chin on my head as I leaned into him.

"Hmm, tough choice. Everything looks to tasty," I said sarcastically.

"You look tasty."

I narrowed my eyes and looked at him, and his head flew back in silent laughter his shoulders shaking.

**So... I'm back! Honestly, I've just been very busy lately, but I promise I won't abandon it completely. It will be finished. This story is actually almost finished, only a few more chapters to go, I plan on writing another Trate story, this time at camp. Little snippets of their relationship as they grow up :) **

**I'm so sorry for the long wait! *hides from angry villagers***

**David: I guess I can't please everyone *shrug* There also wasn't an ending yet *laughing emoji* **

**Guest: So glad you like the story! Lol I'm assuming those last few reviews were from you**

**Guest: omg 1 year anniversary of If Not Today... How time does fly...**


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